Bound By Earth
by DarkWolf573
Summary: Evil is rising, Darkness is falling over the world. However, ancient prophecy fortells of two children, a chosen boy and a chosen girl, destined to be together, accompanied by two friends they will save the world from Eternal Darkness. Watch the two grow together and learn to love in a retelling of Earthbound that is basically a what if love story. Warning: Uses Original Characters
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Notes: This is going to be a rewriting of the events from earthbound I plan to keep the entire plot the same with a few minor differences to the original story. I've been planning to do this for a long time and I finally finished this chapter a few days after wrapping the original story I was writing. **

**Now considering that I'm pretty swift writer with a huge amount of free time on my hands. Changing my style of writing from my first story where the chapters were pretty short to longer more detailed chapters might be a bit of a challenge and might take a while to get used to. **

**Feel free to give me any pointers and advice since I'm not exactly the best writer in the world**

**But enough about me and this story let's get right into the actual story itself **

Chapter 1: The Night of a New Adventure

**(Onett, 200X)**

A little bug was buzzing throughout a ruined landscape, he had to fly fast, faster and faster he flew. He knew that they were after him, but he had to keep going...he finally found the secret...a wonderful secret...the way to fix everything. To stop the madness that was Giygas's takeover. All he needed to do was go back in time and find the chosen one, and set him on his way. The prophecy still rang through his head

_Giygas will be defeated...because of the existence of 4 children, a boy from Onett, a_ _girl from Twoson, A boy from Winters, and a boy from Dalaam. Together, these 4 would possess the power capable of defeating Giygas...they are friends who have never met...but they will be bound together...by Earth herself..it is up to those 4...they are our only hope._

The bug arrived at a meteor hole. "10 years ago," it said in a electric robot like voice, "10 years ago that same boy visited this meteor hole, but...he didn't travel...for some reason...he didn't know. Because of that, the world fell into hell, Giygas took over because the poor boy didn't know he was destined for greatness...but this time...it'll be different, I will help this boy, set him and his friends on his way. All he has to do is believe that I am telling the truth. Shouldn't be a problem...the prophecy states that he is a thoughtful, strong, and courageous young man."

The bug buzzed around the meteor hole, suddenly, a bright light shone from the meteor hole. "This is it, no going back, I'll find those kids, I'll help them, guide them, be their advisor." it said. With great speed he flew into the light and was sent back in time.

**(Onett, 199X)**

A boy with short blonde hair awoke suddenly, he had been in the middle of his same dream, a place where he had friends who appreciated him, looked up to him, and loved him for who he was. "Damn it." he said to himself, he had been awoken by a sudden earthquake of sorts, something had happened and he wasn't sure what it was. Slowly he got up out of bed, and after running into his drawer, he finally moved outside of his room.

He flipped the light switch on in the hall and moved over to his sisters room. He knocked on her door, his sister opened it and, as he expected, had a chocolate chip cookie in her other hand "Tracy...mom said no cookies in the middle of the night." the boy said sleepily. His sister looked at him, "So the sound woke you up to Moon?" she asked. "Do you think Mom will let me stay up late, I can't seem to fall back asleep." Moon shook his head, "Trace your eating a chocolate chip cookie , you'll never fall back asleep if you keep doing that. Also, there is no way Mom will let you stay up late." he said. His sister laughed, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." She said, "are you going to check out the whole noise thing?" Moon shrugged, "I guess, um...do you still have my bat by the way?" his sister nodded, "Um...could I have it...just in case." His sister moved over to a box and pulled out his bat, it was cracked from...well...it had been cracked for as long he could remember. "Thanks Trace." he said taking the bat from her. "I'll be back."

Moon walked downstairs, he saw his mother sitting on a chair near the kitchen table reading a book sleeping near the table was the family dog King. Moon always thought that King was a strange choice for a dogs name, but considering that King had lived here before Moon was born he didn't question it. His mother noticed him carrying the bat as he walked downstairs, "I suppose you want to go check out what that noise was?" she asked him, Moon nodded at his mother. "Well I suppose you can, you'll probably just sneak out if I tell you no, just do me a favor and change out of your pajamas." Moon nodded and walked back upstairs, he changed into his usual attire, a stripped T-shirt, blue track shorts, and a blue baseball hat, he also put on his blue hoodie since Eagleland was quite cold at night and his black sneakers.

Moon walked back downstairs and headed outside, as he expected he was met a with blast of cold air, but he kept walking. There wasn't many people around, except for the entire Onett police force. "Damn those cops move fast, probably couldn't wait to close another road." Moon said to himself. He noticed police cars and some police barricades as he walked up the hill but nothing to out of the ordinary. "Probably just a natural earthquake, but of course the police force has to treat it like some end of the world catastrophe to get everyone to forget about the Sharks every once and awhile." Moon said. He rounded the corner near the hill and saw Lier X Agerate outside of his house.

"Hey Lier...is something wrong?" Moon asked. "Huh? Oh Moon, buddy." Lier said, "No no, everything is fine, there was this meteor and it went Ka-boom and some crazy shi-I mean stuff went down and now the 5-O are all over it. I wonder when they'll go away, I found this super cool thing I wanted to show ya." Moon covered his nose, Lier's breath reeked of garlic. "Well thanks Lier I'll be sure to come check it out later." he said "Also yer friend Pokey is buggin the officers." Moon groaned.

Pokey was Moon's...friend of sorts, Did Moon hate him? Not really, did Pokey consider Moon a friend? Probably not. Pokey Minch was the son of Aloysius Minch, a well respected businessman and one of the wealthiest people in Onett, he had a quick temper, and would constantly shout at people in his office for no reason. Pokey was the closest thing Moon had to a friend, even if Moon was the one protecting him from everyone at school who hated him. Pokey had a habit of getting into trouble, you name something, Pokey had probably been in trouble for it. Cheating on a test? Yep. Using foul language when talking to the teachers? Yep. Getting Moon into a fight with one of the best athletes on the baseball team because he couldn't fight him, himself? Yep he did that too.

All jokes aside, despite Pokey's poor treatment of anyone who wasn't a friend...or in Moon's case...an ally/bodyguard...Moon did enjoy having a somewhat friendship with Pokey, Moon didn't have any friends, but Pokey had a lot. Although it goes without saying that Pokey threatening to sever their friendship agreement was a way to keep Moon in check. Yeah, by the time he met Pokey, Moon was pretty desperate to have anyone as a friend. However, Moon constantly found himself protecting Pokey from anyone who didn't like him, which was surprisingly about as many people as Pokey had friends..so...quite a lot. Didn't help that Pokey's mouth was constantly spitting out stupid stuff. Anyways, Moon hoped that Pokey wasn't irritating the crap out of the officers, because the last thing Moon felt like protecting Pokey from was the insanely corrupt Onett police force.

Moon rounded another corner where he saw Pokey, Pokey was a chubby little kid, in fact his nickname at school to his friends was Porky, he had a blonde headed bowl cut that would constantly cover his eyes, he also wore blue overalls and a white undershirt. Moon saw him walking between 3 officers, all of whom looked very ticked off, the rest of the way up to the hill was blocked by a police car and two barricades, he noticed Moon walking over to him. He moved pretty quickly over to him. "Moon don't be rubberneckin' your getting in the cops...er, I mean...officers ways. You can go home now, tomorrow, I, Pokey, will tell you more about the strange meteorite. I'm fine here, but you're buggin the officers." he said. "Okay, Pokey." Moon said, "Don't be bothering the officers...I can't help you if you get arrested."

Moon set off back down the hill, he was a little disappointed that he didn't get to see the meteorite, but in all fairness, nothing to crazy was really going on. He decided that he'd just wait , Pokey would tell him about the meteorite and he could visit Lier to see what it was that he wanted to show him. His mother was waiting for him at the front door as he arrived at the front door. "Welcome home Moon, It's not necessary to talk about it tonight." she said. "It's late why don't you scoot off to bed now." Moon was still pretty tired, so he said yes, hugged his mom goodnight and went upstairs falling asleep without changing back into his pajamas.

(Later that night)

Moon awoke to a horrible knocking sound, he glanced at the alarm clock in his room. "Who the hell is knocking on our door in the morning?" he asked himself as he rubbed his eyes. Moon grabbed the cracked bat and walked downstairs, his mother followed after him and as always, King was sleeping. "You are so unreliable," Moon said to the dog, strangely he heard the dog talk back to him. "I've got flea's sucking me dry, so I'm gonna lie still for now." King said. Moon blinked in confusion, Okay that was weird. He approached the door and opened it.

Pokey was standing in the doorway with a frightened look on his face. "What the hell is wrong with you Pokey?" Moon snapped, "It's 5 in the morning, why are you at here." Pokey looked at him, "L-L-Listen to what I've got to say!" he said quickly. "When I took Picky to the place where the meteorite landed..Oh um good evening ma'am," he snickered noticing Moon's mother. "You're looking lovely as usual. "CAN YOU PLEASE GET TO THE POINT!" Moon snapped. "Anyway, as I was saying, the Police that were guarding the meteorite left suddenly to deal with the Sharks, you know the local ruffians and they were really going wild. Suddenly I noticed that Picky was gone." Moon facepalmed. "Fantastic." he snapped at Pokey, "You want me to go help you find Picky?" Pokey looked at him sincerely. "It wasn't my fault...I blame the cops. When my dad gets back, I'm gonna be punished severely." Moon groaned, Aloysius Minch may be a well respected businessman, and wealthy, but he was an abusive father, Moon knew that Pokey would be punished very severely for losing his brother. "You're my bestest friend won't you help me find Picky?" Pokey asked, Moon had the feeling that he was making puppy dog eyes under his hair. Moon sighed, he hated it when Pokey played the friendship card. "Alright Pokey, I guess I'll help you find Picky."

Pokey grinned, "Ok, good buddy! Let's blow this popsicle stand." Pokey said, "Oh, before we go, you should probably say goodbye to your mother first, don't you agree ma'am." Moon turned to his mother, "I know that dog is unreliable, but you should take King along with you. Your cracked bat will also help, the animals have been getting a little rowdy lately." she said sweetly. "Thanks Mom." Moon said. "Remember no matter what anyone says, you're a thoughtful, strong boy. You're my very own natural born fighter, You'll go far, and don't forget to go for it. Although you might want to go grab your ATM card and your hat as well before you leave."

Moon walked back upstairs and put on his blue baseball hat and took his ATM card out. He walked back downstairs, Tracy was also downstairs. "I'll do everything I can to help you! Good luck on your adventure, you may get hungry along the way so here take this cookie." She handed him a cookie. "Thanks Tracy," Moon said. "I'll also hang onto anything you don't need." Moon grinned, Tracy was always being helpful to him and he thought it was nice. "Thanks but I don't need you to hold onto anything at the moment." he said. "Alrighty then" Tracy said.

Moon walked over to King, once again he heard the dogs voice, "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked. "Of course King, I might need your help." Moon said. "Guess I have no choice, alright let's go." King said. The dog got up and trotted next to Moon. Moon then went over to Pokey, "Alright Moon, you go on ahead, I'll follow behind at a safe distance." The three went towards the door, but as Moon reached for it, the phone began to ring. "Odd," his mother said, "Moon could you please answer the phone?" Moon nodded and moved over to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" he asked.

"Hello it's you dad" his father's voice rang through the phone."Work to exhaustion when you're young...you ever heard a weird saying like this?" he asked. Moon thought about it, "I don't think so dad." Moon said, "Just remember, I'm always behind you 100%. Don't be afraid. I know that you're brave you can do it!" his father said. "Don't forget to call me from time to time if you ever decide to like...go on an adventure or something, I'll make a record of that adventure...who knows it could become a good novel or something. Anyways, I'll be depositing some of the money I make into your ATM Account, if you need to know how much money is in there, you could call me." Moon was delighted to hear this, but he was sure that it wouldn't be that much money. "Thanks a lot dad." "Who knows maybe if you save up that money you could take a girl to the movies or...DAD!" Moon shouted. "I'm just saying, that you never know, I met this wonderful family in Twoson that has a girl who be perfect for you." Moon went red, his father may think he could have a girlfriend, but girls hated him "Anyways...Good luck m'boy, I feel like such a hero, or rather the father of a hero at least. His father laughed and hung up the phone.

Moon shook his head, and moved over to the door. Moon, Pokey, and King walked outside, it was still dark out. "Well you say that you lost Picky near the meteorite so let's go there." Moon said. The three began their trek up the hill. Moon couldn't help but feel uneasy animals had been acting up recently. So he couldn't help but feel a bit paranoid.

Danger!

Moon felt a big pain go through his foot, "OW!" he shouted. He kicked the air, and a snake flew off his foot. Strangely, he sensed a dark energy of sorts...something about the snake gave off a bad vibe. The snake lunged at him but King charged at the snake hitting it before it could touch him. The snake hit the side of the cliff and fell limp on the ground. As he walked over towards the snake, Moon felt the dark energy fade away, almost like it had...died. That's really weird, it's like something was in control of the snake, Moon thought.Thanks King." the dog wagged its tail and barked happily.

Danger!

A black crow flew towards Moon squawking constantly, Moon ducked before the crow could hit him and he swung his bat at the crow who quickly flew out of the way. "Pokey do you like maybe wanna help?" Moon snapped. Pokey just stood there, frozen in fear. This was no surprise to Moon considering the fact that he was Pokey's bodyguard but it would be nice if Pokey actually bothered to help every once and awhile. Plus something about this crow gave Moon an uneasy feeling, it was smiling like a human and it's grin was a grin of pure evil and, like the snake, gave off a dark energy vibe.

King started barking at the crow which didn't help, but considering that King was a dog and this was a crow, it was better than nothing. The crow dove down and began to peck Moon around his eye. Moon whacked the crow to the side using one of his hands and then hit the crow's beak with his bat. The crow squawked and fluttered around a bit more before diving back down to peck again. Moon put his hands in front of him and felt the crow still pecking his hands, it hurt...a lot. He felt the crow slow down and immediately used his chance to whack the bird in its side using his bat. The crow squaked and, like the snake, fell to the ground the energy disappeared and the crow was most certainly dead. Pokey looked at Moon in horror, "YOU JUST KILLED IT!" he shouted. Moon felt sick, he killed an animal...then again, it was self defense...after all the crow nearly pecked his eye out.

King once again started barking as a brown dog ran up. It had blood red eyes and was charging straight at Moon. Once again he felt that Dark energy. It lunged out and bit Moon's arm. He yelled out in pain and, without even thinking, swung his bat using all his strength. He hit the dog square in the face and then King charged up and bit the dog to protect his owner. The dog sank to the ground and collapsed as the dark energy Moon sensed disappeared. Fantastic, Moon thought, I've killed a crow and a dog, why are these animals so insane all of a sudden?

"Hey um Moon?" Pokey said. "Yeah?" Moon asked. "You're kind of um...bleeding...like a lot." Moon glanced at his hands, they were cut badly from the crow and there were still bite and claw marks from the dog, on top of that his leg was still throbbing after the snake bite. He was pretty concerned that they may leave scars and he wished he had some form of first aid training.

Suddenly he felt a warm sensation go through his body his leg stopped throbbing as he took his hand off where he was rubbing, he started rubbing his arms and the same warm feeling ran through him again. He looked at his arms which were now no longer scared and the bite marks had also disappeared as well. His hands however were flashing green. He looked at his hands in confusion, all he did was rub his injuries and they just...vanished? Was he dreaming? Moon certainly didn't think so...the pain from the animals had felt pretty real. Though taking his opportunity he ran his hand over his eye and felt the marks the crow had made vanish as well.

"How'd you do that?" Pokey asked him. Moon shrugged, "It kind of just happened. I don't really know." he responded. "It's getting pretty scary, maybe we should just go home." Pokey said. Moon looked at him, "Pokey...you'd rather be punished severely?" he asked. Pokey flinched, "No I guess not...let's just find my brother." he said nervously. "Quickly" he added as another crow dove down and Moon whacked it away.

After a long 10 minutes of walking, because a bunch of crows and dogs kept attacking, the group of 3 arrived at the meteor hole. Suddenly King howled, Moon looked at him, "What's wrong boy?" he asked. "If I knew this was going to be such a scary place, I wouldn't have come along, I'm outta here." King said running down the hill. Moon and Pokey watched him go, "Some dog of you've got there." Pokey said. Moon glared at him, "At least he helped fight those animals, all you did was complain and use me as a shield." "Whatever," Pokey said, "Let's just find my brother and get the hell out of here."

Moon looked at the meteorite, it was still on fire and it also gave off an immense amount of heat. Then he noticed a little boy who looked quite similar to Pokey, he wore a black shirt with a P in the center and he had a blonde bowl cut that covered his eye. "Picky?" Moon asked. The boy jumped, "Wha- uh...oh." he said. "You woke me up." Moon facepalmed, "Did you find him Moon?" Pokey asked coming over. "Pokey" Picky said. "I've been looking all over for you...you see Moon...Pokey got scared and ran away." "I'm not surprised." Moon said glaring at Pokey. "Well I'm glad you're okay Picky. We should probably get you home, your parents are probably worried sick about you two." "Geez, sometimes I wonder who is the real big brother." Picky said walking behind Pokey, the three were about to set off back down the hill when Moon heard a sound, it sounded like a bee was buzzing.

Moon looked around, confused for a bit. "Moon." Pokey said, "Do you hear that buzzing, sounds like a bee is buzzing around or something." Moon nodded, "Yeah I hear it." "Yes, Yes you can." Pokey said.

Suddenly, a light started glow a shoot straight up from out of the Meteorite, "What the hell is happening?" Pokey asked. "I'm not sure." Moon responded. The light closed away and a tiny insect flew out of the light. "A bee I am not." it said with a robotic like voice. "I'm from 10 years in the future. And, in that future all is devastation." Moon looked at the insect, "Why is the future so destroyed?" he asked. The insect buzzed around for a bit, "his name is Giygas, the universal cosmic destroyer. Sent all to the horror of eternal darkness." "And this concerns us why?" Moon asked. "Please just listen to me Moon." The insect said. "Wait how the hell do you know my name, who are you?" Moon asked. "You can call me Buzz Buzz, now let me explain how I know you, where I am from, there is a well-known legend that has been handed down from ancient times. It says that when a chosen boy reaches the point he will find the light. The passing of time will shatter the nightmare rock, and reveal the path of light." the insect said. "Still don't know what this has to do with us." Moon said.

"You see, Moon, it is my opinion that you are that boy." Moon looked at the insect skeptically. "That's what you believe?" "Yes that is what I believe." Buzz Buzz said. "I also believe that Giygas' monstrous plans were set in motion here on Earth 10 years ago...if you start to confront the enemy immediately, you may have time to counter the evil intentions of Giygas." Moon was in a daze and he shook himself back to normal, "So you believe that me...a 13 year old boy, can defeat a universal cosmic destroyer?" Buzz Buzz landed on his shoulder, "Yes that is what I believe. To do so, three things are of the utmost importance. Wisdom, Courage, and Friendship."

"Wisdom and Courage...probably, Friendship...not so much." Moon said, "I don't have any friends, and I have a hard time making them to." The insect buzzed around, "Is the chubby kid not your friend?" Buzz Buzz asked. "I'm more of his...bodyguard for lack of better word...keep him out of trouble with other kids at school." Moon said. "Well the legends from the ancient times tell of four friends, three boys...and a girl who defeat Giygas. Don't be anxious about the future, You have much work to do Moon." Buzz Buzz said.

Pokey tapped Moon on the shoulder. "Moon it looks like your in a lot of trouble this time, and it's not even my fault...Uhhh...did you say 3 boys, I'm not one of them am I? Cause I'm not really into this type of thing." Moon looked at Buzz Buzz, "Don't worry Pokey," Buzz Buzz said, "You are not one of those boys." Pokey breathed a sigh of relief, "At least I hope not." Buzz Buzz whispered to Moon, "My calculations may be off."

The four set off down the hillside, "Buzz Buzz, listen," Moon said, "With all due respect, I think your calculations are wrong." The insect landed next to him, "And what makes you say that?" it asked. "Well there's nothing special about me...I'm not that strong...I'm not popular...I'm not exactly one who would be destined to save all of mankind." To Moon's surprise the insect laughed. "That's funny, you can't honestly think there isn't something special about you." "Well to be honest, yes...I don't really know why you are so adamant that I'm the one."

"Huh, that's strange because I sense a lot of power from you, in fact, I think you've already discovered one thing you can do with your power." Buzz Buzz said. "What type of power...what can I do?" Moon asked. "You possess something known as Physic Powers...or PSI for short." "PSI?" Moon asked "What am I able to do with that?" The insect buzzed excitedly, "That I can't tell you...people with PSI can have different types of powers. There are many things you can do, you can increase your strength, cast shields, heal yourself." That caught Moon's attention, "So your saying I can heal myself? That I can believe, I was able to fix a snake bite like it was nothing just by touching it." The insect buzzed, "See...you are special...you posses a PSI power known as Lifeup ...it allows you to heal yourself if necessary."

The four arrived at the bottom of hill and they saw Pokey's house in the distance. Suddenly, light started to shine the same way it had at the meteorite. "Uh oh...that's not good." Buzz Buzz said. "What is it?" Moon asked. A silver coated person...or alien. Moon couldn't really tell now stood before them. "Who's that Buzz Buzz Buzz?" Moon asked. "That Moon...is a starman Junior, Starmen are Giygas's elite army force, Junior is the lowest rank, but they are still quite powerful.

The Starman Junior stood menacingly, "It's been a long time Buzz Buzz." it beeped. "You've been successful in foiling master Giygas' plans. But Buzz Buzz, you must now surrender. You're no longer a hero, but a useless insect. I'll stomp you hard!

"Stay back you three." Buzz Buzz said, "I'll deal with this, PSI Shield Σ!" Moon felt himself being surrounded, by a bunch of light. "PSI Fire β!" the Starman said. A bunch of fire shot out of the Starman's hand. But the fire vanished before it hit any of them Buzz Buzz charged straight at the starman hitting it in the head causing it to stumble backwards. Moon didn't want to be left out so he followed suit hitting the starman in the head causing it to shatter. The Starman Junior fell to the ground and moved no more.

"Phew I was taking a big chance there." Buzz Buzz said. "He came from 10 years in the future to kill me, so we can't relax yet Moon. From now on you'll be fighting enemies sent by Giygas, they don't know any better as they are under Giygas' influence, or maybe humans with evils thoughts or intentions. They'll definitely make trouble during your adventure. As you are probably aware animals are also becoming violent as well due to Giygas' influence over the evil in their minds it is the truth so listen." Moon nodded, "I understand, Buzz Buzz.

The four arrived at the door to Pokey's house. Moon paused, he remembered that Pokey's mother was absolutely terrified of bugs. "Hey Buzz Buzz, do you mind waiting out here while I drop these two numbskulls off?" Moon asked. "Pokey's mother might throw a rousing tantrum if you come into the house. The insect fluttered around. "Sure Moon, I shall wait for you on the mailbox, I'll be sure to stay out of trouble until then." Moon nodded. "Thanks Buzz Buzz, now Pokey, Picky, you two try to stay out of trouble...since it looks like I'm not going to be around to protect you for awhile." he said. "Whatever," Pokey said. "So you've gotta go save the world, you'll only get yourself, and those other 3 killed." Moon rolled his eyes, he was getting tired of Pokey and was glad that he was dropping him off. He knocked on the door to the Minch's house and after a few seconds of waiting. Pokey's mother opened the door, Pokey, Picky, and Moon each entered the house. Buzz Buzz watched them go in, "I know I can't help those 4 children, not anymore at least," he said. "But I'll be sure to set Moon on the right path...the fate of the world depends on it. He just needs to get his PSI powers Rollin."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Statues, Stones, and Sharks.

"WHERE IN SAM HILL HAVE YOU BOYS BEEN?!" Pokey's mother shouted as the three walked through the door. Moon winced, Pokey's mother was stupidly loud, good thing they were the only people who lived in the outskirts of Onett. "Sorry about that Mrs. Minch." Moon said hastily, "Pokey and Picky came over to my house to ask me about the noise." Even if Pokey was bothering Moon, he'd make up anything just so the two wouldn't get so badly beaten. Pokey's mother gave him a death stare making him back up a little. "Is that so...well then...I'll have to think of a suitable punishment. Those two know the rules...if we leave them home alone...they are to stay in the house at all times."

Pokey's father, Aloysius Minch, walked over to them. "I'm so terribly sorry that my kids troubled you so much." he said. "You'll both really be getting it now." Pokey and Picky both bolted upstairs while their father chased after them. Moon heard what could only sound like a severe slap on who knows what multiple times. Aloysius came back downstairs a minute later. "By the way." he added grumpily, "I'd really appreciate it if you left sometime soon." Moon slowly back away, "No need to mention it sir...I-I-I was already on my way out." he said nervously. "I'm really tired of your family living next door. We've loaned your father a lot of money, maybe a hundred thousand dollars or more." Moon started to get really ticked off, "It wasn't that much you idiot." he said bitterly. "WHAT WAS THAT!?" Aloysius shouted. "I said it wasn't that much."

"Well I guess you're right...it really could've been less, but because of that lone, my family and I now live in poverty!" Moon looked around, "You call this poverty?...you've got a freaking 82 inch flat screen TV, not to mention that your wife is wearing a big old diamond ring!" Aloysius towered over him..."THIS IS POVERTY!" he shouted. "Okay fine, whatever...crazy old man." Moon said under his breath. Mrs. Minch blocked him from exiting. "Please excuse my husband, he's much too lenient with the children. Oh well, nice guys finish last, that's the story of our lives I guess."

"I swear the whole family is crazy." Moon said to himself as he left the house. Buzz Buzz was waiting for him on the Minch's mailbox. "Sorry I took so long." Moon said. The insect fluttered around for a bit, "It's fine Moon, really, but we must make haste, the sun has risen up soon and we need to get going. You need to begin your great adventure to defeat Giygas." Moon could only look at the insect, "Buzz Buzz, with all due respect, how do I kill Giygas?" The insect buzzed around. "To defeat Giygas, your own power must unite with the Earth's. Earth will then channel your power and multiply it." Moon blinked. "So...how do I do that?" he asked. "To do so, there are eight points that you must visit, make those your own." Buzz Buzz replied. "Each of them will become "Your Sanctuary" in fact one of them is right here in Onett. It is called Giant Step. We must go there first. Do you understand? Moon was a little confused at this point. "I understand Buzz Buzz, just one question. How do I find Giant Step and, more importantly, how do I make it my own? It sounds like these places would be really well hidden and heavily protected."

The insect buzzed. "You would be correct in that assumption" It said as they walked back up the hill to Lier's house. "But if you look you can actually see it now, look down the side of the mountain." Moon glanced at the side of the mountain, in the distance he could see a giant footprint carved out in the ground. "Oh I get it...Giant Step...very clever name." he said. The insect landed on his shoulder, "Now to answer your question about how to make them your own, here let me give you this." The bug held out a stone which Moon took. "Um...what is this?" he asked. "That Moon, is the Sound Stone, you can use it to record the melodies of the eight "Your Sanctuary" locations into this stone, you can listen to them at anytime, and you can also share them with the others when you meet up with them. It's a pretty awesome item."

Moon looked at the stone in his hand. "So what you're telling me, is that I use this stone to absorb the power of the Earth?" he asked. "Correct, I can explain the whole thing again if your still confused." "No thanks I think I understand." Moon said as they arrived at Lier's house. "So why did we come here?" Buzz Buzz asked. "We need to get going, your friends are waiting." Moon frowned, "Lier said he wanted to show me something, I promised I'd come check it out. Besides, those "friends I've never met" can wait a little longer, considering you don't know who they are either." "Fair enough." Buzz Buzz said.

Moon entered Lier's house. There was a giant hole in the middle of the floor with a ladder. "I'm doing this cause I trust you Moon. First let's go to the basement." Lier said Moon glanced at the hole uncomfortably. "Ah! I can tell by the look on your face that you don't want to hang out, do you? That's all right, I understand. After all, we aren't even related. I know you may think I'm a big liar, my name probably doesn't help, but maybe I'll surprise you." he said going down the ladder. "Are you sure you want to follow him Moon?" Buzz Buzz asked. Moon nodded and went down the ladder.

Moon climbed down the ladder into a really big tunnel. Right next to the ladder was some of Lier's digging tools. After walking through a long tunnel, Moon came to a side where Lier was standing, waiting for him. "So Moon, buddy," he said "I found proof of a great treasure, a huge haul." Moon laughed. Lier was a treasure hunter who constantly thought he constantly found something unique or ancient. Most of the time though, it was a bunch of garbage. "Ya, hah, hah, very funny." Lier scowled. "I'll show you, but you're the only one. C'mon now." he said motioning for Moon to follow. Moon entered through a doorway and he saw a magnificent, shiny, golden statue with...horns...holding a sword downwards...with red ruby crested eyes. Moon thought he was dreaming yet again, but nope that statue was as real Buzz Buzz was. Moon stared at the statue in awe. It walk glowing strangely it gave off some sort of vibe similar to that of the animals. Moon also felt like it was staring into his soul as well.looked at the statue's base, it read: Mani Mani Statue.

Lier looked at him excitedly. "Moon if this is a sign of what lies below, I just need a little time. My destiny is to find and dig up the buried treasure. I'll eat more garlic and workout to help strengthen myself." Moon continued to stare at the statue. "You can go home now." Lier said, you're getting in the way of my work. You may start to get greedy thoughts if you stay here longer. "Let's get outta here." Buzz Buzz whispered, "This Mani Mani Statue is giving me the creeps." Moon nodded. "Well good luck Lier, I hope you find that buried treasure." Moon said as he walked back through the tunnel.

Moon and Buzz Buzz walked out into the sunlight and made their way down the hill. "Um Buzz Buzz do you mind if we make one last quick stop at home so I can say goodbye to my family?" Moon asked. "No I guess not." Buzz Buzz replied. "You should probably let them know that you're leaving." As Moon arrived at the front of his house he suddenly heard a loud crack. He turned around only to find a man wearing glasses, a suit, with a top hat, he also had a camera.

"Who the hell are you?" Moon asked. "Pictures taken instantaneously! I'm a photographic genius, if I do say so myself!" the man said. "Okay, get ready for an instant memory look at the camera Ready? Say FUZZY PICKLES!" Moon was taken aback "Wait hold on, I don't have any money and I'm not ready to take a pic-" the man ignored him and snapped a photo. "Wow! What a great photograph it will always bring back the fondest of memories." he said. Moon blinked do to the flash of the camera, when he refocused himself, and the man was gone. "Buzz Buzz please tell me you saw that." Moon said. "Yeah I saw it." Buzz Buzz said. "What a strange man."

Moon entered his house. "Oh you're back." his mother said. "Don't bother talking at the moment, mothers understand these types of things, why don't you eat some of your favorite Cake and scott off to bed. Moon gladly accepted the cake, it was his favorite food after all. But he still had something he wanted to tell his Mom. "Mom, I want to go out and explore the world...and hopefully make some friends...is that alright?" his mother smiled. "You're father and I always knew that one day you'd want to go on an adventure. Sure you can go." Moon could hardly believe his ears. "You're kidding right?" he asked. "No I'm not...I just got off the phone with your father, he said that he thinks your old enough to explore the world on your own. So go out there and be the best person you can be." his mother said smiling. "Just remember to call me and your father, every once and awhile if you feel homesick." Moon smiled and hugged his mother goodbye. Patted King on the head, and headed out the door.

"So now," Buzz Buzz said, "let's make our way to Giant Step" Moon set off down the road to the town of Onett. "So we need to get to that mountain side." Buzz Buzz said. Let's try to go through that house I saw near the entrance to that mountain cave. Moon nodded, "Yeah I've heard about that house. It's supposed to be the traveling entertainers shack...or something like that." They arrived at the shack were two people wearing bright red were both standing anxiously by the door." Moon looked at them curiously. "Can you believe that they locked us out of our own house?" one of the guys said. "I know what a drag, we can't change into our entertainers clothes and the hotels are way too expensive."

"Um what's going on?" Moon asked the two of them. "Oh were just a little on edge cause city hall locked our house and now we can't enter it to change." they responded. "Why do you care?" "I was kind of hoping I could check out that footprint at the top of the mountain." Moon said. "Sorry kid," the entertainers said. "No can do, apparently some punk named Frank trashed our house and now it's under investigation, but since the sharks keep causing mayhem...the police can't do anything about it."

Moon walked back towards Onett, "That's a little bothersome." Moon said. "Maybe if we could stop the sharks...we could get the key...I've heard the mayor say on TV that he'll do anything if someone could put an end to the sharks mayhem all over town." Buzz Buzz buzzed around. "Moon, unfortunately I can't help you fight...as an insect I'm getting old quickly...there are still some important things I need to discuss with you when the time comes...so you're kind of on your own fighting." Moon inwardly groaned. Buzz Buzz had taken care of the Starman Junior so easily that he had hoped that Buzz Buzz would've continue helped him fight. "It's alright Buzz Buzz, I understand." Moon said.

Moon walked into the town of Onett, instantly he smelled his favorite burger shop cooking the burgers he loved to eat dearly. He figured if his father gave him enough money he could buy some to eat on his adventure with his...friends...Moon wasn't really sure what to think of these friends...he had never had any...other than whatever his status with Pokey was.

A man wearing purple with a hula hoop knocked Moon on the back of the head. "You've got some nerve walking in this part of town kiddo." he said laughing hysterically. "NOW GET OUT!" he shouted swinging the hula-hoop at Moon again. Moon ducked out of the range of the hula-hoop and swung his bat at the man. It struck his side causing him to shout out in pain. "HOW DARE YOU!" He shouted. "Boy I am a yes man junior!" Moon blinked. You're um...what?" The man looked furious behind his purple jester mask. "A yes man junior...a ranked member of the sharks." Moon didn't remember the sharks having ranks...or different outfits for that matter, but he did need to find out where the leader of the gang was. "Anyways...enough talk boy. I'm about to hit you into next-" he was cut off as Moon hit him again with the cracked bat. The Yes Man Junior fell to the ground. Moon felt pretty proud of himself..he had just taken out a member of the sharks...something that the police even struggled to do. However, his victory was short lived as his foot was run over by someone on skateboard. "WATCH IT!" Moon shouted. The man on the skateboard stopped rolling on and turned around

"Kid do you want to start a fight or what." the man on the skateboard asked. "You ran over my foot." Moon said. The man noticed the Yes Man Junior on the ground…"Okay boy explain yourself." He said angrily. "Explain what?" Moon asked. "EXPLAIN WHY A SHARK IS LYING ON THE GROUND UNCONSCIOUS!" the man shouted. "Well..um...you see." Moon began. "You did this didn't you!" the man asked furiously. "KID YOU NEED TO LEARN SOME RESPECT!" He flipped his skateboard around and charged straight towards Moon, who jumped out of the way before he got there. Well this is great, Moon thought, how am I supposed to beat him if he's going to keep charging and turning around on that skateboard. The Skate Punk turned the board around again and hit him from behind. Moon was now on the street as the Skate Punk charged at him yet again. Swiftly Moon grabbed his cracked bat and swung it at the legs of Skate Punk flipping him off his skateboard, the punk landed in the bushes outside of the Onett Arcade.

Moon was pretty bent out of shape...he was exhausted since the Sharks at hit him quite hard. Unfortunately his troubles weren't over yet. "Kid do you wanna meet Frank?" A man on a pogo stick asked. "You don't want Frank to beat you up, do you?" Moon stared in confusion. "Who's Frank?" This made the man furious. "Frank is the leader of the sharks...kid you've gotta learn your way around Onett." He bounced on his pogo stick and hopped over to Moon at a swift speed. Moon knew there was no time to move out of the way...but then he felt something powerful awaken inside him...it was telling him to say something...something new...something helpful! "PSI Hypnosis α!" He shouted. The man suddenly collapsed off the pogo stick and fell to the ground unconscious. Moon stayed put for a few seconds before breathing a sigh of relief."

"Buzz Buzz...what did I just use?" Moon asked. "The insect buzzed excitedly. "You learned how to use PSI Hypnosis α, it's a type of PSI power that makes enemies fall asleep, "What's with the alpha?" Moon asked. "There are certain levels of PSI Moon, Alpha is the weakest, then Sigma, Beta, Gamma, and finally Omega." "So why not just use the omega version all the time?" Moon asked. "You do not have access to the Omega version of Hypnosis." Buzz Buzz stated, "At least not yet...as you grow stronger you'll master these powers and they'll grow stronger, for example Lifeup alpha only heals one person just a little bit...but Beta will heal one person for a lot more."

Moon skeptically looked at the insect. "This sounds like I'm playing a video game...I can't unlock more powers until I get stronger...those powers that I unlock are stronger than the previous powers." The insect flew over to his face, "Think of however you wish..but that is how PSI powers work." Moon shrugged, he didn't know how useful putting people to sleep was considering he'd probably be whacking them with a bat right after. If he was being honest, when PSI powers came to mind, he thought of powerful magic attacks like maybe shooting fire. Not healing and putting people to sleep. Speaking of healing, he still felt really weak and Lifeup could certainly come in handy about now.

"Hey um Buzz Buzz...how do I...use these powers?" he asked. "There are ways to use PSI powers. To use helpful in battle ones like hypnosis and shield, you must say PSI followed by that word and the level you wish to use. For healing ones like Lifeup...you must concentrate your thoughts on healing...your hand will flash green and you move it around you to heal specific parts of your body. If you want a quick heal of the entire body, place your hand on your head. Would you like me to explain that again?" Moon shook his head, "No thanks Buzz Buzz, I got it." Concentrating on using Lifeup Alpha, Moon finally made his hand flash green. Remembering what Buzz Buzz told him, he placed it on his head. He felt the same warm sensation go through him yet again and he felt stronger after it stopped.

"So now that you're better." Buzz Buzz said, "Maybe now we should focus on finding this Frank fellow." Moon nodded, however he quickly glanced at the arcade, he remembered coming here by himself to play some of the games that were in there. You had Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and his personal favorite Galaga. He remember spending countless hours playing that game trying to get the high score...which he finally did after a few days of playing. However he noticed a few more Yes Man Juniors inside of the arcade. "Buzz Buzz, I think I may have found out where their Frank is."

Moon and Buzz Buzz entered the arcade, immediately they were jumped on by another Pogo Punk. "It was you! YOU beat up my buddy didn't you? You'd better just beat it!" he said. Moon simply whacked the pogo stick with his bat causing the Punk to fall face first onto the floor. "Well that was too easy." Moon said. "Seriously fighting on top of a pogo stick is just so stupid." Buzz Buzz laughed, "Well Moon the world is full of crazy people, but that doesn't give you the right to let your guard down, your adventure will only get more dangerous as you continue to advance onwards, don't forget you'll also have the help and support of your friends."

Moon smiled but on the inside he couldn't help but be worried...any attempts he had to make friends in the past had blown up horribly...he didn't understand why, but everyone just found him..weird. It went without saying that Pokey's other friends certainly didn't like that he was always around with them at school...he always felt alone...isolated...confused...he wasn't a bad person..yet he never understood why people hung out with jerks and bullies...sure he hung out with Pokey, who in of himself, was a bully to people, but Moon didn't feel as if he was truly Pokey's "friend" he never really participated with Pokey's antics, he was usually the one who came to the rescue whenever something went horribly wrong, which was all the damn time, he'd tell Pokey to get the hell out of the other people's business before things got worse. That was about all he did...then he'd usually have to deal with the ridicule of all kids that were so angry with him, because they didn't get to slap Pokey into next year. He had tried to make good with some of Pokey's buddies...but they just weren't really into the whole...be friends with the guy who keeps us out of trouble every other day. There was a reason he was labeled as "Pokey's Bodyguard." if it wasn't for him, Pokey would probably be dead by this point.

"Is something wrong?" Buzz Buzz asked snapping him back to reality. "No...I was just...thinking about what you said." Moon responded. He approached the back door to the arcade which a Yes Man Junior stood in front of. "Hey kid you wanna become a member?" he asked. "Um sure I guess..where's your leader?" Moon said. "Come back after you've finished EarthBound." Finish EarthBound? That was a weird requirement...was it a new video game or something, Moon wondered. "On second thought no thanks." Moon said. "Don't be such a snob kid." the Yes Man Junior said preparing himself for a fight. Moon simply whacked him over the head with the bat.

Moon walked outside he now stood in a backyard where a man wearing a dark red and white striped suit. He had long golden hair...and he also wore some black sunglasses. There was also a strange machine that resembled a tank with fists behind him, the man who Moon could only assume was Frank, was tinkering with it as Moon approached him.

"A little more and...done." Frank said. "Alright Frankystein Mark 2! You and I are gonna wreck havoc on the streets of Onett." Through the reflection of his sunglasses he saw a boy with a bat behind him, he turned around with a smile on his face. "Hello little boy...I'm Frank...and you are?" Moon didn't know how to respond to this...if he told Frank his name...Frank could probably track down his family if Moon didn't defeat him in a fight "C'mon can't you at least say your name?" Frank asked. Moon stayed silent, and to his dismay...he wished he hadn't. Frank swiftly whipped out two knives, "Oh you've gotta be kidding." Moon said to himself.

Frank charged brandishing his two knives. Moon swiftly jumped away from his knives range. "What's wrong kid? Yah scared?" Frank asked. "Yah should be, I've been mastering the art of the blade for years!" he said swinging a knife at Moon. Moon felt the blade ever so slightly graze his hand Moon looked at his hand, there was a slight cut in the center. Come on think, Moon said to himself, there's no way I could whack him my bat without getting cut severely...if only there was some way to stop him...in his...tracks...I know! "PSI Hypnosis α!" Moon shouted. Instantly Frank's eyelids blinked and he stood there dazed. "Good thinking Moon." Buzz Buzz said. "Now let him have it." Moon slowly walked over to Frank, "Batter Up!" He said swinging his bat at Frank

SMAAASH!

Frank woke up with a huge throbbing pain, "You..ergh" he said holding his head. "You think you're soooo smart." he said. "But I'm Fail-proof Frank Fly, I CAN'T BE BEATEN! Now child fear the wrath of Frankystein Mark 2!" he said pressing a button on a remote control that he pulled out. Suddenly the robot that Frank had been tinkering with started to sputter and shake. "Oh...hell...no." Moon said as the robot charged towards him. It threw a punch that he was not ready for blowing him back into the wall of the arcade. Moon's vision became shaky as he tried to process what was going on...then he felt something warm...not the same warm sensation he had felt when using lifeup...more of a wet...warm sensation..steamy if anything. He concentrated quickly on lifeup, and moved his hand over to his head, instantly he felt refurbished. The robot was charging at him again this time he was ready and quickly jumped away from the punch. The robot smashed into the wall of arcade...but that didn't matter it didn't do much damage to it. Then it let out a giant burst of steam.

"Moon," Buzz Buzz said. "The robot needs to let out a bunch of steam before it can attack again, use that to your advantage!" "What you can't help me?" Moon snapped. "Is now really the time?" Buzz Buzz asked. "Fine, but you owe me an explanation after this." The robot once again charged at him and Moon jumped out of the way yet again. This time however, he made his move at the robot striking it from behind with his bat. It didn't do much damage and Moon could tell that this was not going to be easy. The robot turned around and, yet again, let off a giant burst of steam. However Moon took notice to the fact that there was a little glassy center to the robot that was generating the steam from. "Okay Frank." he said to himself, "Let's watch your machine go boom!"

The robot let off a punch that Moon ducked under. Then, using all his remaining strength, swung his bat at the center of the robot.

KA-BOOM!

The robot exploded into hundreds of pieces, but the force of the explosion also threw Moon back as well. Moon couldn't think straight as he collapsed on the ground. "Moon..you need to get up." Buzz Buzz said. Weakly, Moon got up off the ground, he was shaky...he had not expected a huge explosion to follow up after hitting the robot.

Frank walked over to him. "I must say kid, you've bested me...believe it or not this is my first defeat...are you alright?" Moon shook his head trying to focus himself. "YOU NEARLY KILLED ME!" he shouted. "I'm sorry kid...I...I'm not sure what came over me...I guess I couldn't bear being Failure-Frank." "He doesn't realize that he was under Giygas' influence." Buzz Buzz whispered to Moon. Sinking in Moon couldn't help but feel bad for Frank...he had nearly killed him, but he was under Giygas' control...so in reality...he didn't know what he was doing.

"Anyway, somehow I know you've been asking around, so I'll tell you a little about Giant Step...it...seems...to be quite a powerful spot. Some kind of...special power is stored there that allows certain people to perform wondrous feats." Moon nodded, "Thanks Frank...is there anything else?" he asked. Frank thought about it for a second. "Oh yeah," he said after a minute. "Apparently some monster sucked up all the energy from that spot...it's now guarding that spot at full force so it'll be quite difficult to get there. This is however, all I know." Moon nodded. "I understand...but um...one problem...you kind of trashed the place and now it's locked, I can't get in."

Frank frowned. "That...is a serious problem." he said. "Oh wait I remember, Pirkle, the mayor Onett, has a key to the shack, he might give it to you if you were to perform some extraordinary feat." Moon thought about this for a second. "Frank...could you maybe...disband the Sharks? I really need to get into Giant Step and maybe you disbanding the Sharks would be enough to make the mayor give me the key." Frank stared at him in shock for a few minutes. "You know what kid...you've become stronger than I, I can tell that you've got some important business to do so just for you...I'll do it.

Moon stared in disbelief, he had expected this to be harder. "Really?" he asked. "Yep." Frank said. "And you don't want anything in return?" "Well, you could tell me your name." Frank said. "I told the Sharks that if anyone could beat me in a fight, I'd disband them...so...I kind of need your name." Moon couldn't believe his luck...all he had to do was tell the man his name...and he'd be good to go. "Um...my name is Moon." he said. Frank gave him a look that made Moon question whether or not he was going to believe this. "Moon...huh...well Moon, your adventure is only just beginning, if you ever need some advice or support you can always come find me here." Moon smiled, "Thanks Frank..this really means a lot." "Also, just for your sake, I recommend you get yourself a better bat." Frank said pointing at the cracked bat. "I heard the department store is having a sale on Tee Ball Bats, it'll certainly deal more damage than that cracked one of yours." Moon got the same videogame like sensation again, "Thanks for the advice Frank." he said.

Moon exited out of the arcade and walked towards the department store. "So Buzz Buzz, why didn't you help me fight the robot?" Moon asked. The insect was still on his shoulder, "Moon as an insect, I don't live as long as humans." he said. "I'm conserving my energy to help you against that sanctuary guardian just incase. After you've claimed your first sanctuary, I probably won't be able to guide you much further." Moon realized what this meant, "So...you're dying?" he asked. "Yes, I am dying...but I'm not leaving you without figuring out who you're other friends are and when you'll meet them. In a way, I'm kind of trying to pinpoint who and where the other "chosen ones" are." Buzz Buzz replied. "You're becoming a very special boy Moon...keep going in the direction I've set you in. Don't worry about me, not even lifeup can save me at this point." Moon was upset that he was losing his guide...but he didn't want to show fear or doubt. There was prophecy that had been true so far...if he had to complete the adventure without his guide, so be it.

Moon arrived at the department store and opened the door. "Welcome!" a man from behind the counter said. Moon smiled and said hello to the man and went over to the payphone and he called his dad he needed to know how much money he had. "Moon...is that you?" his father asked. "It's your dad speaking." "Hello dad," Moon responded, "how much money do I have in my account?" "Ah going out on a little adventure I see, lemme check...I've deposited $500 into your bank account." Moon nearly had a heart attack when he heard this. "$500? Dad why did you deposit so much?" "I'm making more money than you think kiddo, believe me I've got money to spare...your mother told me that you were heading out on some sort of adventure so I figured I'd give you a little investment." "Um...Okay then...thanks Dad." Moon said hanging up the phone. "Excuse me sir...how much for a Tee Ball Bat? Moon asked. The cashier rang it up. That'll be $48.00. "Okay thanks a lot!" Moon said handing the man the money. "Would you like us to buy your cracked bat?" the cashier asked. Moon thought about it, but then he remembered that Tracy still needed protection, "Um no thanks...I think I'll hold onto this...just for the memories." "Okie Dokie then have a nice day sir." the cashier said

Moon walked down towards City hall he figured that Frank had enough time to tell the people that the Sharks were no more. He entered into city hall and walked towards the back. Pushing open a door he was met with a staircase and a lady sitting behind a long desk. The lady looked up from her computer. "What's your name? Do you have an appointment?" She asked "My name's Moon." Moon said to her. The lady shrieked with joy, "oh my you're the one who beat up the Sharks!" she said. "Go right on up, Mayor Pirkle is waiting for you."

Moon walked up the staircase and entered an office full of people. Including a police officer, the second he entered the officer ran up to him, "Thanks so much for all your help." he said shaking Moon's hand. "You're...welcome...I guess." Moon said. "The mayor's over there, the officer said pointing towards a desk where a portly man sat. "Hey, hey, hey! I'm mayor BH. Pirkle. It's so nice to meet you." the man said cheerfully. "Um...nice to meet you too Mr. Mayor." Moon responded. "Kid your a hero, you beat the town bullies, punched them out big time, kicked their butts, bits their heads off, spit in their eyes, and made them wet their pants." Moon rubbed the back of his head. What the hell did Frank tell these people? He wondered. "And to top it all off you forced them to promise not to make any more trouble. For that I am grateful, thank's kid! Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Mayor Pirkle asked. "Um...could I have the key to the touring entertainers shack?" Moon asked. The mayor looked at him like he was expecting something more. Then he began rummaging through the drawer, "You know what, you've got yourself a deal. For someone as great as you, giving you this key could help keep this town safe and peaceful." he said handing Moon a key. Buddy you have no freaking idea, Moon said to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Rollin into the First Sanctuary.

Moon and Buzz Buzz made their way back to the entertainers shack. Along the way Moon dropped off the cracked bat at his house and told Tracy to use it incase any crows, snakes, or dogs tried to attack her. After enjoying a bit of his favorite cake Moon waved goodbye to his family and retraced his steps backwards. He arrived at the door to the traveling entertainers shack. Inserting the key into the lock he turned it and the door clicked open.

"Oh my god...you got the key." One of the entertainers said. "Kid thank you so much." Moon smiled, "It was nothing...really." he said. "Still I want you to have this it's a trinket I keep for good luck. It's called the travel charm." Moon thanked the entertainer and slipped the charm over his head and around his neck. "Moon, good thinking, I've heard rumors that the Travel Charm can protect one from getting paralyzed" Buzz Buzz said to him. Moon wasn't super into luck, after all he had virtually none, but if someone was going to try and paralyze him, it'd be pretty handy to have the Travel charm on him.

He walked through the house which, apart from the giant hole blasted through the back of it, was actually tidy. He found himself at the entrance to the mountain side. "Alright so I just need to make it through here...and I'll be at the sanctuary right?" Moon asked. "Correct!" Buzz Buzz said.

Moon walked into the cave and was immediately greeted by a bunch of slugs. Moon wasn't exactly afraid of bugs...but they did disgust him a little, what was worse is that they moved really quickly and he suddenly felt them crawling up his leg...they weren't hurting him, but they were still on him which was less than comfortable he quickly brushed the slugs to the side and then whacked the few still coming towards him with his brand new bat.

Danger!

Suddenly, out of nowhere at rat leaped forward and sank its teeth into his deep into Moon's skin. He cried out in pain and swiftly kicked the rat off him the rat went flying through the air and hit a stalagmite in cave. But that wasn't it for the rat, it got back up and jumped towards him again. Swiftly Moon hit the rat using his bat square in the face breaking it's tooth and hitting it towards a wall. The rat collapsed onto the floor and moved no more. Immediately Moon tended to his wound using lifeup...the deep pain took a little bit longer to heal but it did eventually heal.

Suddenly, Moon found himself being swarmed by rats. Two rats jumped at him at the exact same time. "PSI Hypnosis α!" Moon said. One of the rats fell to the floor but the other got it's teeth into Moon leg yet again, however this time not as deep. Moon once again flailed his leg carelessly to shake the rat off it before whacking it into another stalagmite. Then turning to the sleeping rat before it could wake up and pounce he whacked it over the head with the bat. "These enemies really don't know when to quit." Moon said. "They will not quit." Buzz Buzz said. "Not with Giygas in control of their minds." Moon nodded, he couldn't let his guard down, even if this universal destroyer was only sending...rats...and...slugs to stop him.

"Buzz Buzz, I see one little problem," Moon said. "We need to go up...yet...I don't see a way to get up. I can't rock climb with my bare hands." The insect buzzed. "There is a rope up ahead can you see it?" he asked. Moon noticed the rope dangling from the side of the cliff. "That's just way too damn convenient." Moon said to himself climbing up the rope. Immediately has he got up he found himself met with yet another rat who lunged at him, Moon quickly jumped out of the way and the rat fell over the side of the cliff. "Stupid rat." Moon said.

He continued to walk through the cave when he noticed something strange...ants were starting to come after him yet their bodies were shiny...almost metallic. He quickly whacked one with his bat causing its body to shatter. However the other ant's...antennae flashed green and the body rebuilt itself. Moon recognized this as lifeup and was taken aback, Buzz Buzz said that he was special...so he had expected maybe only him and the other chosen ones...and possibly Giygas, to have PSI. But here these two robotic ants...antoids for lack of a better word were just using it like this was normal. Both of the ants climbed onto him and whacked him their antennas which, despite their absurdly small size, actually hit about as hard as the first rat's bite! Moon winced at the pain and immediately whacked the one that had used lifeup smashing it to bits, then immediately smashed the other one before it could heal.

"Buzz Buzz..how are these...things able to use Lifeup?" Moon asked. "With Giygas in control...some animals and humans might be able to use PSI attacks as well." Suddenly, Moon's eyelids began to feel heavy, he kind of just stood there with a dazed expression. He knew that he had a mission to accomplish and tried to press onwards yawning slightly as he moved on, then he collapsed onto the ground which jolted him awake immediately. "Buzz Buzz, what the hell just happened?" Moon asked. "You were put under PSI Hypnosis" Buzz Buzz responded. "What but...how?" Moon asked. Then he felt another slug crawling on him, how long had it been there? He quickly brushed it to the side and hit it using his bat. "It seems like the slugs need to take a bit of time before they are able to use PSI." Buzz Buzz said, "So try to make sure you get all of them off you before that happens." Moon nodded, so the slugs were weak...but if you underestimated them it could come back to bite you or in this case stick to you.

Moon arrived at yet another rope, grasping onto it he climbed up the rope and arrived at the top. He noticed an exit near the cave...that's odd he thought, Frank said something about a monster yet nothing here was really that threatening. As he finished his thought another rat jumped at sank its teeth deep into his skin. "DAMN THESE STUPID RATS!" Moon shouted in fury smashing it off him with his bat, he bent down to use Lifeup only he couldn't get his hand to flash green. "Um...Buzz Buzz...I can't use Lifeup!" Moon said. "You are out of energy Moon, you didn't honestly think you could use PSI infinitely, it drains a special part of your energy known as Psychic energy, as you grow stronger...you're Psychic energy will increase which will allow you to use more PSI powers before you drain your energy completely."

"You are making this sound more and more like a video game." Moon said. "Perhaps we are a video game...or a story." Buzz Buzz responded. "If we are in a video game then this is the best freaking video game in the world." Moon responded. "It's literally a real life game...how cool is that?" Buzz Buzz continued to buzz, "You really are enjoying this way too much." he said. "Just imagine how much better you're adventure will get with friends." Moon paused. He still wasn't sure about the whole "friends who've never met," his most particular worry was what the others would be like..would they be like him, grew up without a lot of friends...or small town. Moon certainly hoped this was the case...considering how his relationship with all the other kids at school who came from well respected, wealthy, families, like Pokey for example.

He exited the cave, he was exhausted, unfortunately, to his dismay, there was no giant footstep, instead there was another cave entrance. "Buzz Buzz...I'm kind of…" Moon was cut off a warm magically feeling flowed through him. He suddenly saw a bunch of purple, he blinked and everything was back to normal. A sparkling monarch butterfly flew off his opposite shoulder. He suddenly felt refreshed and energized.

"That's a magic butterfly," Buzz Buzz said. "If it touches you or you touch it, it'll energize you a bit." Good to know, Moon thought, if I'm ever low on energy I can just look for a butterfly. He entered back into the cave where another rat immediately jumped at him but Moon quickly knocked it to the side the rat hit the wall and fell to the ground. "Not this time." Moon said. Weirdly, in the distance there was a...fully wrapped...still warm hamburger. "The hell?" Moon said. "Who the hell leaves a perfectly good hamburger in the middle of a cave?" he took the burger from off the ground, it wrapping hadn't been opened so after opening it, he ate it. "Yep still fresh, those burgers stay fresh for a very long time." he said to himself.

Walking up through the cave he came across yet another rope going up...then it stopped on a ledge where yet another rope was going up. "Almost there." Buzz Buzz said. "Just up this ladder should be the exit to Giant Step." Moon began his climb, when he got to the first ledge he took a minute to eat the cookie Tracy had given him earlier, and then climbed the next rope as well. When he got to the top he saw a bunch of light flashing at first he thought that it was the outside, but then he heard Buzz Buzz say. "Oh crap." it took moment for his eyes to adjust to the bright light but when they did, he saw what Buzz Buzz had meant, along with two of the Antoids, there was now a Giant Metal Ant, and oh boy did he look mad.

"Buzz Buzz..what the hell is that?" Moon asked. "That Moon is a sanctuary guardian, it was placed here by Giygas to keep the sanctuary out of your hands." Buzz Buzz responded, "Okay but what is it?" Moon asked. "That is the Titanic Ant Moon." Buzz Buzz said. "It's giANT!" Moon said. "Yeah I know, it's body is also made of full Titanium." Buzz Buzz continued. Moon felt like he was going to have another heart attack. Solid Titanium...how the hell was he supposed to beat that with a freaking baseball bat?

"Welcome Moon," the ant hissed. "Master Giygas has told me quite a bit about you...this is the first your sanctuary location, but it's mine now...take it from me...if you dare."

"Don't worry Moon, I'll help you." Buzz Buzz said flying off Moon's shoulder. The little insect charged at the Titanic Ant and hit it hard. Moon could tell...the ant stumbled backwards. "Foolish insect." the ant hissed slapping Buzz Buzz against the wall. "BUZZ BUZZ!" Moon shouted. The ant turned back to Moon and charged straight on at him. Moon jumped out of the way. He needed some sort of attack plan...he wanted to just defeat the Titanic ant...but with those Antoids around, they'd just heal their master if need be. If he was going to beat this Ant, he was going to have to take care of the Antoids first.

"Defense Down α!" the Titanic Ant hissed. Moon instantly felt himself feeling a little weaker. The ant ran up and bit him in the arm. Moon cried out the bite was excruciatingly painful , he hit the ant over the head with the bat which at least made the ant let go. But as he expected, the Antoid's antennas flash green healing their boss. "Ugh..if this keeps up...I'll never defeat that ant." Moon said to himself. The Titanic ant charged at him. "PSI Hypnosis α!" Moon shouted. The Titanic ant stopped and collapsed onto the ground. Seizing his opportunity, Moon smashed the two antoids into bits. The he turned back to the Titanic Ant and using all his strength swung his bat at the back of the ant's head.

SMAAASH!

The ant woke up instantly and immediately kicked Moon. Moon went flying into a stalagmite nearby. He concentrated his thoughts on Lifeup when he felt his energy being drained...he didn't know what was going on it was almost the ant was some sort of...PSI Magnet. "Nice try." the ant hissed. "But you're not getting away that easily." The ant bit Moon's arm once again making cry out in pain. Then the ant let go, "one more bit oughta do it." it hissed. Moon's vision was getting blurry, he knew he couldn't win this fight...this was it...this was over.

Suddenly he had a flash vision...there were 3 kids about his age, a girl wearing a purple dress, a boy with glasses, and a boy who looked like a karate master. They were all saying something. "The world is counting on us." the three of them said. "They're counting on you...don't give up Moon...however dire the situation may be...don't give up hope..we'll support you...we're behind you every step of the way...rain...snow...extreme heat...whatever it is...whenever it is wherever it is...we're going to stand by your side...we are the chosen protectors...we're this worlds last hope…but most importantly...we're your friends...just keep on Rollin Moon...it's what you do best...we'll always be there for you." they said.

"That's right." Moon said to himself. "The world is counting on me...the other 3 are counting on me...I can't give up...not when there are people counting on us!" he felt something awaken within him...something incredible...something powerful...but he didn't know how to use it...he didn't know it's name. "Hurry." he said to himself, "Think...what was it that they told me. "Keep Rollin...it's what I do best...Rollin...that's what I do best?...is this newfound power...Rollin? With a bit of uncertainty in his voice he shouted.

"PSI Rollin α!"

Instantly, several giant, bright, multi-colored beams shot out of his hand. The Titanic Ant was enveloped by the beams of light and when the light disappeared, the ant fell to the ground with a dead, shocked look in its eyes. Moon stood there a bit dizzy, confused, and unfocused, then he remembered Buzz Buzz. He moved over next to the insect. "Buzz Buzz?" he asked. The insect buzzed for a bit but didn't go off the ground. "M-Most impressive...Y-y-you finally unlocked that power you needed." the insect said. "Don't bother healing me...I was already dying of age...I am an insect after all." he continued. "But Buzz Buzz, I need you!" Moon said. "You don't need me anymore. You know the road ahead will be difficult, but you need to stay strong...you're about to meet your first friend as well." Moon blinked, he was meeting his first "friend." he wasn't at all ready to meet the other kids destined to save the world, in fact he had hoped he'd have Buzz Buzz with him because he found it pretty hard to believe that 3 other 13 year old kids would believe the current story.

"Who am I going to meet Buzz Buzz?" Moon asked. "I've been talking with her for awhile, her name is Sarah, she lives in Twoson, she sounded pretty excited to hear about the whole thing, said she couldn't wait to make another friend." Moon's heart sank...the girl was supposed to be his first friend?...he wasn't disappointed with this, he was just worried...he already had no friends...and he couldn't really talk to anyone at school, not only that but girls absolutely despised him. he remembered all too fondly that everytime a girl was paired up with him for anything...that girl would instantly get the whole "I'm sorry." from everyone. Moon never understood why everyone hated him...he was pretty nice to people, he hoped Sarah would be different. "Thanks for letting me know Buzz Buzz." Moon said. "I can tell that you're nervous about meeting her," Buzz Buzz said, "You and Sarah are bound together, not just by earth, but also by your hearts. She will not hate you, nor will she ever dislike you, she is a kind-hearted, caring, loving, person."

"Bound by our hearts." Moon said. "Reminds me of a story I read long ago." he looked at Buzz Buzz who was now lying motionless on the ground.

Moon picked up the insect, despite being a bug, Moon only felt it was right to give the insect a proper goodbye, moving out into the sanctuary he saw the giant footprint he had seen from the top of the hill, as he approached it he heard a soothing melody start to play from somewhere, then he felt a sensation similar to that of the magic butterfly...only stronger. This is pretty relaxing. Moon thought. Then he saw a puppy happily barking playfully, the puppy ran around for a bit before finally stopping and fading. Moon pulled out the sound stone, it was glowing brightly, something told him to touch the stone to his forehead...he did and he heard the melody play again. "Very cool." he said putting the stone back into his backpack, "I guess as I visit more sanctuaries I'll eventually get the whole song." He picked up a few ordinary stones and started to make a circular shape near a tree, then he dug a small hole and placed Buzz Buzz's tiny body in there before covering it back up. He stood still for a moment, admiring his work, he wasn't sure he'd visit Giant Step again...but if he did, it'd be nice to remember where Buzz Buzz was. Turning away from the grave he began his trek out of the cave. "Well, things can only get better from here." he said. "Sarah...whoever you are...I hope your ready to meet me."

**(Twoson)**

A girl wearing a purple dress, with a blue ribbon tied into her long golden hair walked outside of a cave on the outskirts of a town. She happily hummed a song to herself as she made her way home. She was excited, delighted, and absolutely amazed. Why? Because she had been told that she was destined to save the world!

She always knew she was special, she had been able to shoot ice and fire out of hand since she was four! She grew up fascinated by her strange powers, she would often times venture out into the valley and test them on some of the plants there. She never felt different because of her powers, the townsfolk found them fascinating, the children that she helped watch at her home Polestar Preschool enjoyed watching her use her powers to cool them off on hot summer days, her parents were a bit overprotective but they never objected to her using her powers...they said that one day she might need them to protect herself. Now she was offered a chance to save the world accompanied by some new friends. The voice still rang inside her mind.

_"You are destined to help save the world Sarah...This is the last you'll hear from me, but don't worry, I've sent a friend who you've never met to meet you, he is just like you. His name is Moon, he is your destiny Sarah you both are bound together, by Earth and by your hearts."_

Her destiny...was to be with a boy named Moon, bound by their hearts. Everything she had heard about him made her love him despite not knowing who he was. "According to the voice, he is thoughtful, strong, and courageous. And his name is the best part about him...it's such a unique name...to be called the bright, beautiful, object that came out every night. He must have lots of friends based on that description." She said to herself.

Sarah arrived back in Twoson, there was chubby boy waiting on the outskirts of town. "Um Miss...pardon me." the boy said as she approached him. "I'm looking for someone name Sarah...do you know where I can find her?" Sarah stared at the boy blankly, was he Moon? She didn't believe in fairy tales...nor did she actually believe that she would be in love with him..but she expected someone...a bit more...cleaner, the boy had a bit of blue paint smeared across his face, wore a bright blue robe that had the letters HH imprinted on it. "That'd be me." she said to him. The boys expression suddenly became anxious…"Oh um…I heard that you know how to get to Peaceful Rest Valley...I need to return to Happy Happy Village, Mr. Carpainter requires my assistance...but I couldn't remember how to get back. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, this couldn't have been Moon, not by a long shot. "Yeah, to get back to Happy Happy just go back through the cave that's down the road." She said pointing in the direction she had came. The boy smiled...though something about his smile gave her a weird feeling. "Shouldn't you get going?" she asked him. "Yeah...I just need to get one last thing before I do." he said. "Which is?" Sarah asked. The boy's smiled turned into one of an evil grin making her step back. "You." was all she heard before she passed out.

**Author's Notes: It always bothered me that we never got an explanation as to when/how Paula was kidnapped. I'm well aware that it is hinted that Pokey was the one who kidnapped her, but it still made very little sense not include something about it at some point. That's why I decided to throw in that little last part at the end.**

**My desicion on keeping Buzz Buzz alive was very torn as well, first coming into this it I thought it would've been fun to toy around with this concept on keeping the guide around longer. I never intended to keep him for the entire story and was having trouble deciding on when I should take him out. In the end I went with the desicion that made the most sense by game logic. It occurred to me that had Buzz Buzz not died in the Minch's house he probably would've stay with you most likely would've stayed with you until Giant Step.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Trouble in Twoson.

Moon walked towards the exit of the cave, as he re-entered the first cave he noticed that all the animals were running away from him. "Interesting...I guess if I defeat the leader of the sanctuary the monsters will fear me...in a video game that'd be pretty damn useful for getting a back attack and possibly killing the enemy in one shot, it'd be pretty handy for leveling up." he said. Perhaps it was just his frustration...but he did kill a few more rats before leaving...just because they had hurt him...like a lot.

Moon exited out of the cave it was only ...for some strange reason. He walked back through the entertainers shack and when he opened the door he was met face to face with a police officer who looked really ticked off. Why's he so mad then Moon remembered the Don't Enter sign on the fence of the shack. "Damn it" he said to himself. Moon looked at the officer, "Is something wrong officer?" he asked innocently. "Yeah!" the officer snapped. "The board says "Do Not Enter." Couldn't you read it?" Moon couldn't help himself. "Sir, I don't see a Do Not Enter sign around here." This made the officer go red with anger. "IT'S RIGHT OVER THERE YOU REBELLIOUS KID!" he shouted pointing his finger at the sign. He turned back to Moon and then quickly glanced at the sign again "Oh you think you're so freaking smart huh?" he said. "Why don't you come to the Onett Police station later." Moon saluted the officer, "Sir Yes Sir!" he said. The cop turned around and stormed off muttering "I hate kids."

"Well this isn't a total catastrophe." Moon said to himself, "Plus I had to go there anyways, the road to Twoson is closed." he walked passed the Onett Library for the fourth time today, "Actually...I'm allowed to borrow maps...I've never been to Twoson, perhaps I should pick one up." Moon walked inside the library and walked over to the checkout section. "Excuse me." he said, "I'm going to visit a friend in Twoson and was wondering if I could borrow a map." The lady behind the counter smiled and reached into a drawer. "Here you go, Onett is only place on there as you so clearly already know, all the info is on there except for what's not on there. Pressing the X button will open it immediately, you know the X button, located near the top." she said before laughing. Moon took the map and walked away a little confused. "X button...so random." he said to himself.

Moon set off down the streets of Onett and, like he expected, found that the southern road that led to Twoson was closed. In order to let down the barricades the Chief of Police, Captain Strong was going to have to tell them to. Moon hoped that this would be easy...after all he had dealt with the Sharks. But he had a slight feeling that this was going to be easier said than done.

He entered the Police Station, he recognized Captain Strong instantly because he was usually on the news telling all the citizens of Onett that nothing was wrong (though this was usually false as he mentioned, the police force was corrupt). But he was stopped by the other officer who had yelled at him about the Don't Enter sign.

"There ya are ya little delinquent." he snarled. "Listen here, Don't Enter means just that DO NOT ENTER!" then he went on with a long boring speech, something about Tax evaders, the fact that the police force didn't like closing the roads (also false they did this frequently), and then about how people complain during emergencies like the meteorite for example. Moon wasn't really listening. So when the officer stopped talking he said he understood and moved over to Captain Strong.

"Excuse me Captain Strong?" he asked. "The road to Twoson is closed...and I need to go meet a friend." The officer looked at the boy. "The road's closed because of an emergency...obviously. At times like this shouldn't kids like you should be playing Nintendo games?" he asked. "Well I would...but I left something at my friends house in Twoson and I need to go get it." Moon responded. The captain sighed, "You aren't going to leave me alone if you don't go so I'll ask you this...are you sure you wanna go to Twoson?" he asked. Moon nodded. "Okay then follow me." he said motioning with his hand.

He led Moon down through a doorway and down a long hallway, Moon noticed that there were only two cell doors. "Very freaking good not like there were hundreds of Sharks wandering around here when they were still around." he said to himself.

They entered a back room where 5 other police officers were standing in. Strong closed the door and turned back to Moon. "Alright kid." he said. "You wanna go to Twoson, then show me what you've got. See if you can get past five of my best men." Moon barely trusted his ears at this point. "Did you just say you'll let me go to Twoson...If I beat up a bunch of cops?" he asked. "Yep." Strong said. "And I won't get arrested for this?" Captain Strong shook his head. "It's dangerous out there kid, who knows what lurks beyond that barrier, if you can beat 5 of the best officers in Onett, you can clearly fend for yourself." Moon wasn't sure if these people were under Giygas' influence, but it didn't matter, either way, he had to get to Twoson.

"Eeeeyah!" One of the officers shouted "Hey, small fry, you must be shaking in your boots. "I'm not even wearing boots." Moon said. The officer jumped at Moon with a Karate chop ready in his hand. Moon jumped out of the way and struck the officer square in the face with his bat knocking him out instantly. "That seemed almost way to easy." Moon said to himself.

Danger!

"Listen here kid you're everyday police officer is stronger than your average superhero." another officer said. If this was the case. Moon thought, there'd be way more police and detective movies and comics other than things like Batman, Iron Man, and Spiderman. The officer tried to do the exact same thing the first one had did, and just like before, Moon jumped out of the way and whacked the officer. He didn't go down immediately however, and struck Moon with the chop, surprisingly...it felt much weaker than the Titanic Ant's bite. Moon hit the officer over the head once more and he fell to the ground.

"Don't let the Mayor's compliments give you a big head, bring it on fat boy!" the third officer said. "Okay now you're just shouting insults." Moon said. The officer charged towards him at a swift pace and readied another chop. Moon swiftly dodged the attack and whacked officer first in the legs, then over the head." "This is getting redundant...these people are so freaking stupid." Moon said to himself.

"C'mon I'm gonna take you apart right here, right now baby!" the fourth officer said charging towards him. Moon didn't even want to bother at this point, these weren't cops just bunch of people who were lacking in any skill whatsoever. "PSI Hypnosis α!" he said lazily. The officer collapsed onto the floor then, just for good measure, Moon hit him over the head with the bat.

Now only the fifth officer and Captain Strong remained standing. "That's it buddy...you can forget about me...I'm going to call for my boss!" the fifth officer said. Quickly he ran out of the room. Moon turned to Captain Strong. "Alright...I beat all five...can I go now?" he asked. "Technically you only beat four." Strong said. "So in that case...I'll be number five." Moon rolled his eyes, after watching four of his "best" officers get beaten so easily by a kid with one even running away in fear. Moon wasn't sure whether to admire Strong for standing true to his values as a police officer...or to laugh at how pathetically easy this was going to be.

"There's no way I can beat you in a straight competition." Strong said. "So...get ready for my Super Ultra Mambo-Tango-Foxtrot Martial Arts!" he shouted. "Wait wha-" Strong grabbed Moon swung him around and then threw him against a wall. "Okay...don't let the man grab me." Moon said to himself. Strong charged at him ready to do what he had just done again. "PSI Hypnosis α!" Moon shouted, Strong collapsed onto the ground. "Okay there's no way I can beat him with one swing of the bat like the other officers." Moon said. "So in that case...PSI Rollin α!" he said. The multi colored beams of light shout out of his hands and hit Strong. "Man no wonder these fools could never catch the Sharks." Moon said to himself, he waited for Strong to wake up. Except...Strong didn't wake up. Moon walked over to him and hit him on the head with his bat. Strong awoke instantly. "Hey Captain Strong...I really need to get to Twoson...so can you just lower the barricade, I beat you...and 4 other officers." Moon said. "I-I can't believe it, I didn't believe that you would do so well against the mighty Onett police force...You want the road to Twoson opened?" Moon nodded. "Alright, hang on for a sec, I'll radio my staff and give them the word. Captain Strong pulled out a walkie talkie and started to fumble with it, after a bit it dinged.

"Strong here...do you read me?" Captain Strong asked. A bit more beeping. "Hey! It's me...Captain Strong." he said. "Listen...um hey kid what's your name?" he asked. "My name's Moon." Strong nodded. "Okay listen, a kid named Moon will be at the barricade in a few minutes...he's wearing a blue hat...I want you to open the road to Twoson for him. A lot more beeping. "I know that!" Strong said. More beeping. "I KNOW THAT!" Strong shouted. "Don't ask me why, just freaking do it! That's an order!...Strong out." he put the Walkie Talkie away and turned back to Moon. "Well kid I'm not gonna question you now, but I do want to see you again. Good luck!" he said before exiting out of the room.

Moon used Lifeup and healed himself before walking out of the back room. He exited the police station and headed towards the barricaded road. He was hoping to reach Twoson before nightfall, find Sarah and stay with her for the night, then continue on in the morning. He arrived at the now down barricade where two police officers stood. "Aren't you Moon?" one officer asked. Moon nodded. "Well I got the okay from Chief Strong to let you through Take care of yourself now."

Moon thanked the officer and moved onwards down the road. He moved at a steady pace, and to is surprise, more of the Antoids were outside, even more than the amount in the cave. However, they still fleed upon seeing him. "Guess, they got the memo." Moon said smiling. However, his nice leisurely stroll to Twoson was cut off by a sickening sight, a mushroom...with legs! Moon looked at it confusion...then the mushroom headbutted him. It didn't hurt that much, but just the fact that it attacked him told him everything he needed to know. He instantly whacked the Mushroom aside. "Okay note to self...Giygas can influence plant life as well." he said moving on.

As Moon walked he thought about what he had seen during the vision he had with the Titanic Ant. The three kids that talked to him had to be his friends...but...was it really them who spoke to him? And if so...how? It was all very confusing to him. His thoughts trailed from those 3 to just the girl...Sarah...despite what Buzz Buzz had told him, he was still very nervous about meeting her, the fact that they were destined to save the world was all that kept him from having a nervous breakdown...surely the chosen 4 had to get along. His only hope was that she wasn't popular...it was wrong for him to think that way...but a popular girl like her...with a no one like him surely wouldn't sit well with either her parents...or her friends. Then he thought about what else Buzz Buzz had told him.

Bound by their hearts...odd how he used that to describe both him and Sarah, but not the other 2. Did the prophecy foretell him and Sarah being...more than friends? He hoped not...it wasn't that he wouldn't want a girlfriend...it was more of the fact that he wasn't really familiar with whole concept of love. It confused him in a way, maybe Sarah could teach him...but that would be kind of awkward. Plus their was the whole...it's an adventure that determines the fate of the world you have no time to love cliche. Moon always felt like that was a dumb rule/concept , so what if he and Sarah were on an adventure, if he did end up falling in love with her, he was telling her.

Moon arrived at a narrow forest passing walking through it and approaching the other side, he was met with a lively town, it was bright and the feel was serene, blissful, and calm Quite the place for Sarah to live, Moon thought. There was still a good few hours of daylight left, and since he had exited near a hotel, Moon thought it'd be best to call his mother and let her know where he was. He walked into the hotel, it was quite fancy for his taste, but it would work if he needed to sleep here. He picked up the phone and called his mother.

"Is that you Moon?" his mother said when she answered. "You called me back sooner than I thought...Everyone here is doing just fine...where are you by the way?" "I'm in Twoson...I wanted to see someone before I kept going." his mother responded with, "I'm sure that whoever you are going to meet will like you, keep at it!" "Thanks." Moon said. "Oh...yeah Tracy started working part time for the Escargo Express. Here I'll let you talk to her, and don't forget to call me as well. "Hello this Escargo Express." Tracy's voice said. "Oh is that you Moon? Big Bro, It's me Tracy, I started working part time for the Escargo Express, we'll store anything you don't need and deliver it to you when you need it again. Do you need anything?" she asked. "No thanks Tracy, I'm good for now." Moon responded. While he was in the hotel, he withdrew about $300 from his bank account...there was a department store next door and he felt as if it'd be nice to get some more burgers from the restaurant inside. However, in his rush to get things done and still have time to meet Sarah, he accidentally bumped into an old lady.

"Oh...I'm so sorry miss." Moon said quickly, "I was in a hurry...I wasn't looking where I was going." The lady smiled, "It's okay lad," she said. "I can tell your young but you've had some adventures." Moon felt a little weirded out by the whole thing, probably because there was no evidence to show he had an adventure..unless you counted the fact that he was still carrying the bat. "I think that Sarah would be a good friend for you." the lady continued. "You know Sarah?" Moon asked. "Of course I do dear." the woman said. "Could you tell me where to find her...I was actually looking for her." Moon asked. "Ah so you're not from around here I can tell...everyone in Twoson knows Sarah, she lives with her family at Polestar Preschool, it also happens to be their house as well." Moon thanked the lady and set off down the road.

He didn't want to be rude, but the lady had unknowingly made him worry about meeting Sarah way more than he already was. She was a Polestar...one of the most well respected families in all of Eagleland, their preschool was the most highly praised and prestigious one. What god damn chance did he have of being seen as someone to take care of her on a dangerous adventure...his only saving grace was that Buzz Buzz had been communicating with her, so at least he wouldn't just be a random kid who walked into the preschool talking about something so out of left field that her parents would think he was insane.

Moon looked on his map, Polestar preschool wasn't marked for some odd reason, But Moon had a suspicion that it was the large house in the center of Twoson. If the preschool also happened to be Sarah's house, it would have to be the largest house in town.

Moon walked by the musical theater in the center of town. "Chaos Theater." Moon said reading the sign next to it. "Tonight the boogie is back! It's the Runaway Five's night!" Moon knew about the Runaway Five, they were the most popular band in Eagleland. Moon wasn't too fond of music, but the Runaway Five's Rock and Roll songs were pretty good. Now that he was thinking about music, he found it funny how his strongest PSI attack was called Rollin. Moon saw that standing outside of the theater were two men, one was a bit chubby and wore a red tuxedo with red sunglasses, the other was thin, wore a green tuxedo with black sunglasses. Moon recognized them as the two lead singers of the Runaway Five, Gorgeous and Lucky. Moon figured that since he had time he might as well talk to them, maybe Sarah was big fan of them or something.

"Excuse me...you two are Lucky and Gorgeous of the Runaway Five right?" he asked. "Yeah, we are the Runaway Five." Gorgeous responded. "We're popular but not rich. We're bein' cheated by this theater, and we're in really deep debt...We ain't allowed to leave this place until our debt is paid off." Moon wasn't sure why he had bothered to include that last part considering that he hadn't asked, but regardless he wanted to ask them something. "So do you two know where Polestar Preschool is...I'm looking for a girl named Sarah." Moon took notice to the fact that he could now see Lucky's eyebrows above his sunglasses. "We may be popular kid, but that girl who lives in the house with the preschool is the talk of the town. I want to meet her one day." he said. "Why is she the talk of the town?" Moon asked. "She's apparently got mystical powers...or something like that...I don't know what types of powers they are but from what I've heard, it'd be best not to get on her bad side." Gorgeous said to him. "Anyways kid...we've gotta prep for the next show in a few minutes...so we have to cut you off here." "Could you at least point me in the direction of Polestar Preschool?" Moon asked. Lucky pointed down the street, "just walk straight down and eventually you'll come to the house." he said.

Moon walked down the street towards the preschool, he passed by a park that was called Burglin Park. "If that doesn't raise suspicion then I don't know what does." Moon said looking at the sign. A young boy was just walking out of the preschool as Moon walked up. "Hello." Moon said to the boy. "I'm looking for Sarah...is she home?" the boy shook his head. "Sarah isn't here, she suddenly left and I don't know where she went." he said. "Her parents might know where she is though." "Thank's kid," Moon responded.

So Sarah isn't home, Moon thought, that was really weird, it was almost sunset at this point...perhaps she was at a friends house or something. He figured she had probably told her parents about him at some point..so maybe he could just let them know he was here. He entered the preschool and the as he took sight of what he saw he wasn't sure whether or not he had done something wrong. Three younger kids were in the room along with an adult woman with golden hair who was reading a book to them. The woman looked up from the book and pointed to a door across the room saying. "Talk to my husband, I'm busy taking care of these kids at the moment." Moon noticed that the kids were looking at him with looks of confusion, he wasn't sure why, but they were preschoolers...so who really knew.

He entered the back of the house and was met with with a man, who he assumed was Sarah's father, he was sitting at the table. "Um...Mr. Polestar?" Moon asked. The man groaned, "I assume you wanna see Sarah?" he asked. Moon nodded, "Kid please just get the hell outta my house. You're just like the many others who come to see her miraculous powers, you're just another leech. Or are you from another damn TV station?" Moon blinked, "Um I'm not from a TV station...I'm only 13...isn't that how old Sarah is?" he asked. Her father looked at him with a hint of distrust. "Listen this is really important can I just talk to Sarah?" Moon asked. "To meet or to not meet you can only be decided by Sarah...and currently," he added with a glare, "Sarah has stated that she would only like to meet with a boy named Moon." Moon could tell that her father thought that he had stopped him dead in his tracks...but that simply wasn't the case.

"Well...sir, I happen to be Moon. I wasn't sure that Sarah knew about me yet which is why I didn't tell you." as he expected her father looked at him with disgust, "You're lying." he said. "I swear to you...I'm telling the truth I am Moon." Moon responded. "I don't believe you!" her father declared. "Please, sir, is there anything I can do to prove to you that I am indeed the one Sarah is looking for?" her father sighed, "If you must insist on making a fool of yourself...show me those special powers...Sarah said that you'd be just like her...so do that thing..with those powers of yours."

Moon wasn't sure what to do here, he only knew how to use 3 of his PSI powers, Lifeup wouldn't be convincing since neither of them were injured, if he used Hypnosis...her father would fall asleep, to which he'd then have to hit him over the head with something to wake him up, which was probably not a good idea...then there was Rollin...did he even need to explain this one to himself? "Sir I really shouldn't be using my powers to show you I have no control over them...you might get hurt." Sarah's father sighed. "I guess you right...you sound just like Sarah, she never showed anyone her powers until she was able to control them." he said. "So you're definitely Moon then, you're the one that was in Sarah's dream. You two will save the world, I'll go get Sarah." Moon was little confused, he thought she wasn't home. "Um sir I-." "No need to explain it to me," he father interrupted as he walked upstairs, "You only need to discuss it with her, I would rather not know of what dangers you could be putting my daughter into."

Her father came downstairs. "That's strange, she doesn't seem to be here." he said. "I wonder where she went, I'm sorry could you come back later...or maybe tomorrow." he continued looking at the clock. "I'm not comfortable letting strangers into my house...so I hope you don't mind sleeping in the hotel for the night." Moon nodded, "I understand sir." He exited the room and the woman, who he now assumed was Sarah's mother walked over to him. "Don't worry about Sarah." She said to him, "She has a guardian angel, it seems."

Moon exited the preschool, "Well there goes my free housing for the night." he said to himself, The sun was now just about setting and there were two south to the preschool, they had the names Apple and Orange kid. Moon also knew about these two, Orange kid was supposedly a genius inventor...but this was untrue many people had publicly discredit him, calling him a con-artist. Moon had seen one of his "inventions before." it was called the Suproma, and it broke every time you used it. Moon often times rolled his eyes whenever he came out with sometime "brand new." However, he figured that since he was on an adventure, he might need some help from an inventor...so maybe Apple Kid was just the person he needed.

Moon knocked on the door to Apple Kid's house and entered, the place was a bit of a pigsty, okay that was being nice, it was more of a dumpster, there was stuff everywhere. Moon didn't mind however, he always thought that an inventor's house would be pretty messy because they'd be working on stuff constantly. There was a boy who was chubby, and wearing red. That explains the apple part of his name. Moon thought. The kid went red when he noticed Moon.

"Oh um...hello...I wasn't expecting company because...well, I have sort of neglected doing my housework. I know it's a bit of a pig sty, but anyways. I'm Apple Kid, I haven't taken a bath in a while so I might be kind of stinky, by the way...do you have something to eat? I'm starving. Moon stared at Apple kid, he wasn't mad that he wanted food, but It was kind of silly...but he knew he needed Apple kid's help so he gave Apple kid the hamburger he had bought before coming to Twoson. Apple kid took the burger and ate it really quickly...Moon was worried that he might've ended up choking but no he didn't. "Thanks," Apple kid said. "You seem nice. Uh I wonder if...I wonder if you would like to invest some money in my inventions?" Moon nodded. "I'm kind of on an adventure to save the world, my name's Moon by the way, I heard about you and thought your inventions would be of use.

"Yes!...oh um excuse my manners, I mean thank you...I could really use about $200 dollars." Apple kid said. Considering his father said that he was making more money than he first thought, $200 was probably going to be nothing at some point. Moon nodded and handed the kid $200. "Thank you so much." Apple kid said, "I won't let you down Moon.

Moon turned to leave however he was stopped by a mouse..for some reason. "I am a mouse," it said. "No one has given me a name yet. You took care of my master...In return, I want to give you this...please take it and say nothing." the mouse handed Moon a phone of some sorts. "It's a receiver phone." the mouse said. "My master will use it to call you whenever he comes up with something." "Um thanks," Moon said to the mouse.

Moon walked down the now dimly lit streets of Twoson, as he kept going he passed by a few people on the street, "Yeah...I heard there was a creepy kid following Sarah around." one of them said, "Not to mention no one has seen her since the early morning." Moon didn't want to stop and ask...but he couldn't help but wonder where Sarah was.

**(Peaceful Rest Valley, A few hours earlier)**

Sarah awoke in a wooden shack on a freezing cold concrete floor there was an iron barred wall in front of her. She had a throbbing pain in her head and wasn't sure where she was. The last thing she could remember was...that creepy chubby kid...saying you. That's went it all sank in.

The door to the shack creaked open, to her great displeasure, the same chubby boy walked into he was backed by two...people, they were both covered head to toe in blue robes they also had a little white puffball attached to the end of their head hat. she instinctively backed away, this ended up being a mistake as her head banged into the concrete wall behind her which increased the pain in her head."Heh, Sarah Jones Polestar." the chubby kid said, "Who are you and what the hell do you want with me." Sarah snapped. "Well, my name's Pokey Minch." the boy sneered, "I happen to be a high priest in the religion of Happy Happyism..what we want from you Sarah, is for you to become our high priestess." "What the hell makes you think I'll join your stupid religion?" Sarah snapped. "We're a cult dedicated to spreading happiness all over the world by painting it blue." Pokey responded, "It's not a sin in any way, shape, or form. In fact we're doing the world a favor." "By kidnapping people and holding them hostage until they do!" Sarah spat. "Spit out the truth, what's the real reason you monsters kidnapped me?" she couldn't see Pokey's eyes due to his blonde overhang, but she had the feeling that he was probably pretty furious with her.

"Just stay calm" Sarah told herself, "Moon will rescue you, he's destined to save you...it's all part of the prophecy...don't cry...it shows weakness...stay strong." this was easier said than done, she was scared out of her mind...she was particularly worried about one of the cultists who kept giving her an evil and greedy look through their eyeholes. She concentrated her thoughts on his and the second she starting hearing his thoughts she wished she hadn't "Look at her, so innocent...so cute...and a feisty one to top it all off...I hope I'm in charge of guarding...I want to do things my way with her." is all she heard before forcing herself to stop.

"Listen...joining us will be a great thing...you'll be in charge of making decisions as the high priestess, you get to wear this." he said sliding a robe similar to his through the bars of the cage. "You'll get a one way ticket to blue heaven when you die and you'll be my wife." Sarah had heard enough. "PSI FIRE α!" She shouted, a small bit of fire shot out of her hand and set Pokey's robe on fire...which another cultist immediately slapped out.

"Watch the robe!" Pokey shouted at her. "You know what...we were going to let you go if you refused...but now...I think we'll use you as human sacrifice for our Lord, Mr. Carpainter, the last one we did gave him the power to control lighting...so maybe you'll give him that fire power of yours!" Sarah gulped. "Put the robe on." Pokey spat at her, "It'll go well with that ribbon of yours, we want our holy god of blue to be pleased. "I'll do it when hell freezes over!" Sarah snapped. To her surprise Pokey began to laugh. "Is that so?" he said. "Well...I think our little friend needs some convincing. He turned to the cultist whose mind she had read earlier. "I'm sure you're familiar with this man's way of thinking Sarah...so maybe he'll convince you to listen to us otherwise. Color was slowly draining from Sarah's face, reluctantly, she slid took the robe and slid it over her dress. "Good...we want you to look pretty for the altar tomorrow...so get a good night's sleep, you're gonna need it...unless you'd rather be the high priestess." Pokey snarled. "Also here." he shoved a banana through the bars. "Eat up..that's all your getting."

Sarah was now alone, in the house, at night, she was shivering it was really, really cold inside that house. She was clutching her Teddy Bear that was in her backpack, she wasn't sure what to do. No one knew where she went, Moon still didn't know who she was, but her biggest worry of all, was her parents. They were overprotective, well, her father was at least, she wasn't sure how'd they react when she didn't come home...she had to think of someway to let someone know where she was...then she remembered something.

_"He is just like you. His name is Moon, he is your destiny Sarah you both are bound together, by Earth and by your hearts."_

It was a stretch...but maybe...she was able to communicate with him telepathically. She put her hands together and concentrated her thoughts on trying to find Moon.

**(Mindscape)**

Moon was sitting down in an empty void of sorts...he wasn't at all bothered by this, he had dreamt of being here before, it was a place for him to imagine his own world, do his own things, he often times heard other voices in here, he could never really make out what was being said and he often times found himself waking up shortly after hearing them. Tonight, it was calm, all he was thinking about was Sarah...where was she? Was she Okay? A voice then spoke from off in the distance, but this time he could hear what was being said.

"Moon?...Moon...Moon...I'm a friend who you've never met before...My name is Sarah...Can you hear me calling you? I am Sarah...Moon!" the voice now became a bit panicky. "I am Sarah...can you hear me calling you?" the voice asked. Moon became aware of his surroundings, there was absolutely no way this was dream, her father mentioned that she had powers, perhaps she could contact him telepathically. "If you can hear me, Help! Come and help me!" she continued. "Um, I don't know where I am...There's water running in the distance if that helps." this really didn't help, the best it gave him was the pond he had seen in Burglin Park. "Moon, please help me!" the voice was then stopped. Moon felt his heart beating fast...Sarah was getting desperate, something was happening to her. He made a movement to try and wake up but got held back when he heard another voice.

"Do you ever feel like others are in here before us?" A voice that sounded close to his own asked. Moon turned around, four kids came into view, three looked similar to the kids he had seen when he first used Rollin, the other was...him? Unlike the kids he had seen, the girl who he thought at first was Sarah, wore a pink dress and a red ribbon in her hair, the boy with glasses had blonde hair instead of black, looked more or less the same...but the biggest kicker was the fourth boy, unlike Moon, the boy had a red hat, wore no hoodie, and had black hair. "Unless someone else shares a physic connection to us or we are holding hands, no one else should be ever be in here Ness, I've explained this to you before." responded. "But then explain the voices that we constantly hear when entering this place." the girl said.

Moon looked at the four of them, none of them were actually paying attention, they all seemed to be focused on each other. "Um...who the hell are you guys?" he asked. All of them turned their heads towards him. They just stared at him, then they each looked at one another, than back at him. "You...guys see this as well right?" the kid with glasses asked. "I'm not the only one looking a second Ness right?" "No Jeff you're not the only one." the girl said to him. Glasses kid is Jeff...me...is Ness, I guess Moon thought. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" asked him. "My name is Moon...and I should be asking you guys the same question."

"Well, I'm Ness." Ness said to him, "This is Paula," he said pointing at the girl. "Jeff, and Poo." "Are you four...by chance...the ones destined to stop Giygas?" Moon asked. The four each looked at him like he was absolutely crazy. "We were the ones destined to stop Giygas." Paula said. "But we defeated him." "That's...impossible...I was told that I was the one destined to stop Giygas." Moon said to them. The five stood in silence for a few minutes. "Jeff have you made any sense of our situation?" Ness asked.

"I'm going to throw this out there, but I think the mindscape breaks the space-time continuum." Jeff said. "Moon must exist as the Ness of an alternate timeline...or alternate universe." "Kind of like Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf." Ness said. "Anyways," Jeff continued, "I think it broke because we may be meant to act as advisers to this Chosen 4!" Something clicked inside Moon, if this was truly the case...maybe they knew where Sarah was! "So...Paula...when you got kidnapped where were you held prisoner?" he asked. "Well I was…HOLD UP!" Poo snapped. "You can't just tell him Paula." Moon grew furious, "I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" He shouted, "I HAVE NO GOD DAMN CLUE WHERE SARAH IS AND YOU ALL AREN'T DOING MUCH TO HELP!" the four looked at him in shock.

"Well...he has a point, your adventure could be drastically altered if we were to just tell you where to go" Jeff said. "We're meant to advise you...but we can't tell you...you might miss something important." "Now how are we supposed to advise him if we don't know what the hell is going on?" Paula asked. "Moon...where are you currently?" Ness asked. "I'm at the Twoson hotel." Moon responded. Ness looked like he was trying to think about something "Okay, I think I might be able to help." he said after a few minutes. "Moon, in the morning...go and try to find Sarah's family...if I remember correctly...you should get something helpful."

Moon didn't have any other leads...so he figured that this was probably the best he was going to get. "Okay thanks you four...I guess." he said before vanishing. The four stayed put for a while, "Well...that was...interesting to say the least." Paula said. "Well don't think that this is a one time thing." Poo said. "Knowing our track record we'll probably be seeing him, and the others, again."

**(Twoson)**

Moon awoke in the hotel room. He blinked trying to recall what had just happened...when it came to him he swiftly jumped out of bed and ran out the door. As he dashed outside of the hotel he grew to see just how early in the morning it was...it had to be at least 6. He grew a bit worried that Sarah's parent wouldn't be awake yet...however, his worry was put aside when he saw Sarah's father running down the street. "Sarah! Where are you? It's time for a yummy piece of pie!" he shouted. "Um...Mr. Polestar." Moon asked. "Sorry Moon but Sarah's not home yet. Dear lord, I hope Everdread of Burglin Park doesn't have anything to do with this...I told Sarah to stay the hell away from him!" he took off down the street.

"Well...there's my answer," Moon said. "This Everdread person either has Sarah, or he knows something." Suddenly the receiver phone in his bag began to ring. No way Apple Kid finished something this quickly! Moon said to himself picking the phone up. "Hello this is Apple Kid," Apple Kid said. "I didn't wanna let you down, so I pulled an all nighter to finish this great invention of mine that may be of use to you, get over to Burglin Park and I'll give it to you." he said before hanging up.

"Well...okay then." Moon said, briefly he stopped by the department store and bought a few hamburgers, he figured that Sarah would most likely have been starving wherever she was, she sounded like she hadn't eaten. With that logic he bought two sodas, oddly the department store was out of water so this was the next best thing. Then he set off towards Burglin Park.

When Moon entered Burglin Park he noticed a man on the roof of a house, he had crazy looking hair, wore a black fedora, and a brightly colored tropical shirt. Is that Everdread? Moon wondered. As Moon approached the house the man jumped off the roof and charged at him. "Wha ha ha ha!" He said. "Why don't we chat after you and I lock horns." "Yep definitely him," Moon said to himself looks like I'm...wait lock horns...oh god not again.

Everdread unleashed a punch and hit Moon square in the chest. "Yep...looks like I'm doing this again...only...he's a criminal...no way he's going to be as easy as the Onett Police force." Moon said to himself. Everdread than ran up and bit his arm. "WHAT THE HELL MAN!" Moon shouted whacking him over the head then knocking him away. Everdread just smiled boldly, "Alright you asked for it...PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted. The multi-colored beam shot out and hit Everdread in the chest blowing him into the side of the house. Everdread got up...stumbled for a bit, then walked over to Moon.

Yeah...I'm Everdread...Boss of Burglin Park, when I jumped off the roof I twisted my ankle." Moon rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I lost and nothing is going to change that...You're a strong kid and you've got powers just like Sarah!...I assume you're Moon then?" he said. "Yeah why?" Moon asked. "Listen I know you want to find Sarah so I'm going to tell you what I know, I was going to tell her father, but then you showed up." Moon nodded. "She's out in some hideout in Peaceful Rest Valley, if ya keep going past Polestar Preschool and through the cave you'll end up in the valley. According to my source...apparently some chubby kid wearing a blue robe and some creepy guy wearing all blue and carrying a paint brush kidnapped her. Said they were going to use her for a human sacrifice...or maybe turn her into a high priestess...either way the dude said they were hardcore strange."

"Hang on! If you knew about this, why the hell didn't you go save her she could be dead already!" Moon snapped. "Listen kid, I heard about this only just this morning, Sarah's the only person who actually understands me..no one else really likes me...she's been like a...granddaughter to me." Moon understood how this man felt, he was no stranger to having no one like him. "Listen Everdread, I know you attacked me...and bit me...but I understand what that's like...not having anyone like you...you're not really a bad guy I guess." he said The man smiled, "Thanks kid...oh by the way, if you save Sarah, be sure to come back here, okay? Don't forget!" Moon nodded, "I won't sir."

Moon walked through Burglin Park, he noticed Apple kid near a tree. "Hey Apple Kid!" Moon said as he approached him. The kid blinked for a bit, "Oh hi!" he said, "Sorry, I'm feeling pretty out of it because I've been working all night, but finally the Pencil Eraser is ready!" he said pulling out something that looked like an eraser with a beam attached to it there was a button in the center. Moon looked at it, it's name made it sound pretty straightforward but it wouldn't hurt to ask. "So what exactly does it do?" he asked.

"This machine will eradicate all pencil-shaped objects, figures, and statues in just one second!" Apple kid said. "It's so powerful it'll cut through the toughest of metals as long as their pencil shaped...just don't use it near a shop that sells pencils!" he said before chuckling. "Here you can take it, maybe it'll be of use to you on your adventure. Moon took the machine and put it in his backpack. "If I invent some other brilliant item, I'll call you." Moon smiled, "Thanks Apple kid, who knows, with some of the strange things I've seen, maybe you're invention will be useful as a weapon!"

Moon walked down past Polestar Preschool where Sarah's father was pacing in the front yard. Moon continued onwards pausing for a second in front of place that said Mach Pizza! "Huh, I've heard of this." Moon said. "They were building one in Onett but it wasn't open yet, maybe I'll order a Pizza at some point." he entered into the pizza place and talked to the lady behind the register. "Welcome to Mach Pizza," the lady said. "We don't sell pizza, we only deliver. Here, I'll give you our number so you can call and order sometime!" Moon nodded as the lady whispered the phone number to him. "Don't forget, the best pizza is Mach Pizza!" she said.

Moon continued down the path past Twoson towards the cave. It wasn't much to go off of, but the fact that Sarah could be alive and on the chopping block as a human sacrifice made him shake with worry, this was the best he had to go off of...so he had to hurry. No matter what hell was in that valley, no matter how stupid of time this was going to be, he wasn't turning back. "Don't worry Sarah." he said. "I promise...no matter who these people are…however many people there are...or whatever it is they they can do...I'm not leaving this place without you.

**Twoson was a bit of a hassle for me on my first playthrough of earthbound, a lot of what I experienced was all the common things most people have when plaything Earthbound, without a guide book you pretty much have 0 idea where to go. As a kid it was pretty fustrating but now I actually kind of respect that desicion, the game has so much good dialogue that you'd never hear unless you talked to NPCs, who by video game standards, will tell you where to go and offer a bit of insight**

**Now on to probably the biggest thing I did in this chapter, The original Chosen 4 of Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo will be appearing a few times within this story. I ****thought it would be cool to see the original characters of Earthbound interact with the new characters to act sort of as "mentors" their final role is still undecided and when they appear is probably still up for debate if you have an idea for when Ness and co. should appear I'd love to hear it.**

**Anyways, next up is one of my favorite moments in all of the game, rescuing Paula from Carpainter, this is something I always enjoy reading in stories because depending on how you want Ness and Paula's relationship status to go forward for the rest of the story this is the chapter that puts that in place. For anyone who has read my story (New Friends, New Adventures) and paid close attention to how Moon and Sarah currently see one another, I think you know what my plan is for their friendship.**

**As always, any sort of advice you all have is always greatly appreciated and if you want to let me know how the series is going so far, what you've liked about it or anything be sure to let me know.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Bluetiful Chapter

Moon walked through the cave towards Peaceful Rest Valley. "I understand why those creeps wanted Sarah...her powers must certainly be something extraordinary." Moon said to himself. "Please just let her be safe...let them go with the high priestess idea." he wasn't sure what to think, he hoped desperately that wherever she was, she was safe.

As he continued to move onwards he finally found himself faced with a problem, a tiny sprout with legs. "Oh come on!" Moon said smacking the tiny thing without a care in the world. He wasn't to sure what the deal was, from a titanium armoured ant to...this. He had a suspicion that Giygas was trying to get him to lower his guard, it wasn't working, he learned from the slugs that just because something looked powerless didn't mean it was.

More sprouts gathered together along with a mushroom, the mushroom unleashed some spores at him, Moon whacked the mushroom aside then turned back to the sprouts. Suddenly Moon's vision became wobbly, it felt all strange. However, something he did see was his answer to power part, he noticed that the leaves of the sprout were flashing a bright green. Suddenly the Mushroom he had just taken out was back on its feet. "PSI Rollin α." Moon said. The multi-colored lights shot out of his hands and took out all the sprouts and the mushroom. "Hmm...Rollin can hit multiple enemies...good to know!" Moon said.

He exited out of the cave and found himself in a bright, peaceful valley. "The name makes sense, but with all these enemies who freaking knows how "peaceful" this place is." his vision was still all over the place and he suddenly felt himself struggling to walk. A woman with a basket approached him, "Hello," she said. "I'm collecting mushrooms and was wondering if you'd be willing to sell me that special looking mushroom on your head for $50?" Moon then realized that the mushroom that he didn't even know was on his head and was causing his vision problems. He quickly reached up and grabbed it handing it to the lady, "Thank you so much." she said handing him $50 "Anytime, just be careful I've seen some mushrooms with legs wandering around." Moon responded to her. "Oh by the way," the lady said to him. "The main bridge is out so if you wanna go to Happy Happy Village, you'll need to go to the second bridge further north up the valley." Moon was happy she decided to tell him this, because if he had seen the bridge out of commision he probably would've given up hope...not really, he'd probably be able to swim across but staying dry was probably a better option.

Moon walked north past the broken bridge. "I suspect those kidnappers had something to do with that." Moon said. Then...for some stupid reason, he came upon an Iron Pencil Statue. "If I hadn't just fought a giant titanium ant and some plants with legs...I'd probably be super creeped out." Moon said. He pulled out Apple Kid's Pencil Eraser and pressed the button in the center. Instantly a beam shot out of the tip and the statue disintegrated before his eyes. "I'll be damned." Moon said, "When I get back to Twoson with Sarah, I'll let Apple kid know it works."

Just behind the statue there was another bridge. Moon walked over the bridge at a swift pace, he didn't want to waste his opportunity, there were no enemies around and he gradually increased his speed. He rounded the side of a cliff and nearly lost his mind, there was a UFO object flying around...with eyes!"

"Okay...so...now I've gotta fight a spaceship...or...whatever the hell this is." Moon said, the UFO whirled around making weird beeping noises at it shot past him, however, it didn't seem to really care about his existence, well, at least not until it saw him with it's own eyes. Quickly the UFO fired a beam that hit Moon in the chest. Moon swung his bat but the UFO flew to the side then fired another beam at him. This time instead of feeling pain, Moon felt his nose start to run, his eyes became watery, and he was sneezing. "How the hell...did this thing just give me a damn cold?" he said to himself whacking the UFO with his bat, the UFO smashed into the side of the cliff and broke into hundreds of pieces.

Moon sneezed, he felt himself getting weaker, the only problem was...Lifeup healed damage, not colds...he didn't have a cold remedy or anything like that so what the hell was he supposed to do? Then a voice in his head starting calling something out. What...is it saying? Heal...Healing α?...I guess it's worth a shot. Moon thought, remembering what Buzz Buzz had told him, he concentrated his thoughts on healing...suddenly his hand flashed blue, putting it on his head he felt his nose clear, his vision returned to normal, and the sneezing stopped. "Phew..that was close!" Moon said to himself continuing down the valley.

He found himself passing by the collapsed bridge there was a man their with some tools trying to repair it. "I don't understand who would make his bridge impassible, CRUD!" he shouted as he whacked himself with a hammer. Moon kept moving. Along the way he noticed a box, when opened he found that it had a wax sealed croissant inside. "Well...I guess if Sarah doesn't like burgers...I could just give her this." Moon said.

Moon continued through the valley at a pretty swift pace, the UFO were everywhere and he was getting more and more irritated with how quick moving they were. His biggest concern was their stupid cold inflicting beam...he grew a little worried, not just because he didn't want to waste all his PSI energy by healing colds, but he was concerned that Sarah might have accidentally been hit by one. If not treated and left alone, colds could actually kill you...considering she was being held hostage...he just shivered at the thought of her slowly growing weaker.

Crossing another bridge and heading north, Moon encountered something that reminded him of Whispy Woods from the Kirby games...there was a tree with an evil look in its eyes and a big smiling face. Moon walked over to the tree only to hear a hissing sound. He tapped the tree with his bat and the tree instantly exploded into bits. It force of explosion also blew him into the wall of a cliff. "Ow...that's gonna leave a mark," Moon said. "Note to self...trees equal explosion." He walked up the side of a hill and saw a wooden shack down in the middle of an opening. He sensed a bit of a power coming from that shack, he was eager to just jump down to it, but it was a long way down. Noticing that there was a cave exit near the mountain cabin, he decided he would simply look for another way around. So he continued down past a hill and entered a cave.

**(Happy Happy Village)**

Moon exited the cave to a rather uncomfortable sight...everything was blue! The walkways, they were blue, the houses they were blue two, angry people wearing blue robes...blue, blue and more freaking blue! "Well...ironic to say the least, blue is usually associated with sadness, yet this place is called Happy Happy." Moon said. "HOW DARE YOU INSULT BLUE!" a person wearing a sheet ran up to him waving a paintbrush. Moon had to think quickly, "I didn't mean to offend you...I just found it funny." he said. The man's eyes narrowed. "Listen kid...I can tell that you're a big fan of blue." he said. Moon looked at himself...blue hoodie, hat, shorts, and to top it all off, sapphire blue eyes..yeah he was PSI Rollin in blue for days on end. "So I'm gonna let you off with a warning...don't talk trash about blue...and you may wanna go talk around...people are saying that we need to send newcomers to our lord and prophet, Mr. Carpainter so they can join the Happy Happyist cult...but uh...I don't know where he is." The cultist walked away.

Moon grew really nervous...a freaking cult? This village was run by a cult? "God I hope Sarah's okay." he said as he walked through the blue village. He saw two more cultists talking to each other as he approached the center of town. "Yeah that overweight kid and Carpainter helped me we all kidnapped Sarah."

Moon looked at the people, "That man may know where Sarah is...but if I ask him, I might be outed..so I probably have to find the high priest overweight kid...or Carpainter!" he said. "Excuse me, sir, my name's Moon...I came here hoping to talk to Mr. Carpainter, but nobody seems to know where he is." The cultist looked at him, "Our lord and prophet Mr. Carpainter is in that building up there," he said pointing past a..blue cow and towards the central hub building of town. "Also kid, you'll probably be interrupting there prayer time, a few of the cultists can get a little fiesty when that happens...so...try not to talk to those cultists." Moon thanked the man and walked away.

Moon walked on through the center of town...just before he arrived at the building he felt something coming,

Danger!

Moon ducked he felt a bit of blue paint drip onto his forehead. "You're trying to take away our high priestess get the hell outta this village!" a cultist voice shouted. Moon was a little confused, unless this person had telepathy, there was no way he should've known this "Dude I'm just trying to meet with Mr. Carpainter!" he said. "No, you're Moon, the chosen one, and you're trying to take away our high priestess our lord Mr. Carpainter knows all kid!" the cultist said splattering more paint across his face.

"Damn it there goes my chance at walking through here only fighting Mr. Carpainter," Moon said to himself. "PSI Hypnosis α!" he said. The cultist fell onto the ground, then, for good measure, Moon hit him over the head. Well...this was a problem, he thought, Sarah must've let something slip that he was going to rescue her...if that did anything right for him...it let him know she was still alive. However he heard a voice speaking to him, it was quite a cold voice, but it was speaking. _"Be...happy!" _It said _"You've been through so much stress...just be happy...let go!" _It continued. In his confusion, Moon rubbed the paint off his face and the voice stopped instantly.

"So...Carpainter's paint must be...magical...or...hypnotizing?" He said to himself, good thing there wasn't a bunch on him, that probably would've been a problem. "Just remember, if you fight more of these blue freaks...wipe your face after."

Moon opened the door and was met with quite a sight, hundreds of people were in here, they were all on their knees chanting "Blue Blue." Moon shivered, hopefully not all of these people were fighters...because that would've been a problem. He noticed a door through a huge bunch of people, there was a clear walkway to it but there were some cultists in the way. He tapped one on the shoulder. "Blue Blue!" the cultist said, "We're in the middle of prayer, don't bother us." Moon held his breath then said, "I'm here to see Mr. Carpainter...I was hoping I could just scoot past you. The cultist sighed, "Fine...I'll move but go quickly kid!" he snapped.

Moon walked through the little pathway and was met with one more cultist, who stopped his prayers and turned to him immediately and charged with a bucket of paint. "Hey you! Strange unmasked fellow, yeah you! DON'T GO TO HEAVEN! Moon glanced at the paint bucket, "Damn it...um...what do I do in this situation?" the man tossed it and Moon heard his own voice telling him to "shield...shield? With what?" Moon asked. "No...Shield α!" his own voice said. Instantly his body was surrounded by light and the paint covered the shield causing it to look like it hit an invisible wall. The shield vanished and the paint splattered onto the floor. The cultist shouted for backup, and suddenly two of the cultists walking around ran over to aid him. "Those who are not believers must not believe in blue...TO ETERNITY WITH YOU!" "PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted. The three cultists were blown into the wall and knocked unconscious.

Moon arrived at a door, "So this must be where Mr. Carpainter is...and it must also be where he's keeping Sarah!" Moon said opening the door. The person behind the desk jumped back, he was apparently startled by Moon entering. "You can't just barge in here without an appointment!" the man snapped "Do you have an appointment?" Moon rolled his eyes, "No...but I'll make one." he snapped gripping the bat, "Tell Carpainter I wanna talk with the soon-to-be high priestess!" The man wiped his brow. "Kid you can't just think I'm gonna let you go and talk to Mr. Carpainter directly!" he snapped back. Moon was now irritated and he immediately swung his bat at the desk. The man jumped back in surprise. "I'm going up to meet Carpainter and you're not going to stop me!" the man's eyes widened in surprise, "You've got some nerve, kids like you deserve to be struck by lighting!" he snapped. "Sure...you just keep hoping that!" Moon scoffed as he went up the stairs.

Moon arrived on the second story to the building to an awfully strange sight. A man dressed in a blue suit carrying a paintbrush was praying towards..a familiar golden statue with horns, "That's...Lier's statue," Moon said to himself. "What's it doing here?" As he approached the man and the statue, Carpainter turned to greet him. "Thanks for coming! I've been waiting for you." he said joyfully. "What the hell do you want?" Moon snapped. "I need your assistance to help me paint the world blue and change it to a happy and peaceful society!" Carpainter responded. "So what'd ya say? Will you be my right hand assistant? You'd fit right in with your blue sporting style.

"First off, painting the world blue to make it happy and peaceful is stupid." Moon snapped. "Secondly, HELL NO I am not joining you as you're right hand assistant." "If you don't want to be my right, my left would be just as fine." Carpainter said. Moon rolled his eyes. "Just kidding you're existence is a problem for me and my religion...you dare defy me and I'll put a shocking end to your pitiful game." Moon brushed that off, he knew there was something up with Carpainter and that fighting him wouldn't be easy...but he was still determined to try and smooth things over peacefully. "Just give me Sarah, and I'll let you and your stupid blue obsessed cult live on your dream!" Moon snapped.

Carpainter grinned evilly, "You wish to speak to Miss Sarah?" he asked. "She's been a real pain and I've got multiple people trying to convince her otherwise!" he raised his hands and Moon's reflexes started to scream at him.

DANGER! RUN!

"You will not touch the high priestess...You will not continue your adventure...You will become my right hand assistant. NOW GET SHOCKED!" Lighting shot out of Carpainter's hands, the lighting blasted Moon through the wall of the second story and he landed on the ground near the blue cow he had seen earlier. Moon forced himself up and concentrated on Lifeup, eventually all the sore pain he had felt was gone and he got up looking around. "Well I'm shocked, literally, the man can control lighting...how the hell am I supposed to deal with that?" he had no other choice, the only way he was getting Sarah...was busting her out of whatever prison she was in.

"STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM! YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE LAW!" a cultist shouted Moon groaned to himself. "PSI…no no." he said. He turned and whacked the cultist over the head. He couldn't keep using PSI like that, not when Sarah could've been severely hurt wherever she was...he wasn't sure what to think...that mountain cabin he had seen earlier, he had definitely sensed power from it...call it a hunch...but maybe that power was Sarah. He noticed by a large house with a sign that told him it was a department store! "Save Sarah first, it'll be better if both of us shop together." he told himself. But past that house was a cave entrance. He remembered that the mountainside house also happened to have a cave entrance. "Well...I've got no other leads...so..I guess it's worth a shot." Moon said walking into the cave. "Hold on just a little longer Sarah...I'm coming."

Moon exited the cave and, to his delight, he found himself by the mountainside house. Suddenly a cultist walked outside whistling to himself. "Blue, blue, happy-happy, our new priestess is quite peppy." he sang. He noticed Moon standing by the entrance to the cave. "Hello kid." he said. "You know you're not supposed to be here right?" Moon glared at the cultist, "What have you done with Sarah?" The cultist grinned evilly, "We've been doing this my way...she hasn't enjoyed it all to much, she always seemed, scared...she'd be crying, begging me to stop!" Moon went kind of pale as these words sank in, after all the crap he had put up with to stop something negative from happening to Sarah...this had to be the most disgusting and disgraceful thing possible, whether this was true or not he was not going to let this guy walk away.

Moon tackled the cultist into the ground and repeatedly slapped him. "YOU DISGUSTING LITTLE PIECE OF CRAP!" he shouted. The cultist gasped for breath. "Kid...what...the..hell?" he asked weakly. Moon paused, he could just swing the bat at the cultist's skull and end it all right there. In fact, that's what a cold voice in his head was telling him.

_"You can end this now...all you gotta do is kill him!"_

Moon blinked, the voice was cold...heartless...kind of reminded him of the same voice that was speaking to him when he had the blue paint on him.

_"Be happy...end this monster's life...after all he's done...he frankly deserves it!"_

"No...no." Moon said to himself, "Someway...somehow...Giygas is responsible for this man's actions...he doesn't know any better."

_"You really think that Giygas would want to invoke THIS type of evil...Buzz Buzz said he's a universal cosmic destroyer...what interest would he have in something like that?"_

Moon wasn't sure what to think now...what interest would a universal cosmic destroyer have with a cult? No...killing without any knowledge was wrong. "This isn't a plant or object brought to life, it isn't an animal with magical powers or straight up attacking me for no reason...this is a human. I'm not killing him...even if he is...a creep!" he said

_"You cannot delay the inevitable Moon...you may not know it now, but there will come a time when you're anger gets the better of you...and when it does...you'll see that there is no hope! You'll be so overcome with anger...that you'll collapse in that nightmare realm with your friend. You cannot protect her, you cannot protect them, mark my words...we will meet again!"_

"Well...that was...interesting!" Moon said to himself. The cultist had taken the opportunity to make a run for it, probably for the better. Moon walked up the door of the wooden shack holding onto his bat...just in case there was a cultist or two...or maybe three in there with her. As he approached the door he felt himself getting more nervous...he didn't know what to expect. He took a deep breath, told himself everything will be fine, and opened the door.

The inside of was pretty dark...actually it was pitch black. Apart from what little light entered through the door, there wasn't much else to see. Moon felt around for a switch after a little bit a searching in complete silence he finally found it and flipped it. The lights turned on and Moon looked around the now lit cabin. There was a table, a chair and not much else. Looking to the left was a concrete prison cell, the iron bars were spaced out a bit and through the cage, he could see a girl wearing a blue robe with a blue ribbon in her long golden hair. She was clutching a pink teddy bear on floor was looking at him with a lot of worry in her eyes, which like his, were sapphire blue. Moon stared back at her with confusion, he would've thought she'd be happy to see him...so why was she so afraid? Then he looked at himself, and there was his answer. "That's right," he said to himself, "She's been held captive by a crazy blue obsessed cult...and I'm wearing blue all over me."

He moved over to cage. "Hey...you're Sarah...correct?" Moon asked. The girl didn't say anything, but continued to look at him with worry, he also took notice to the fact that she was holding her head with head with her hand and had a runny nose. He outstretched his hand through the bar of the cage. "I am not your enemy Sarah...I'm here to help you." he said. "Who?...Are you Moon?" she asked. "The one and only." he responded. Relief spread over her face as she got up walked over to him. "Moon! I'm so glad it's you..I was worried that it was that cultist again." she said before sneezing. "Sorry." she said quickly, "There's no heat and it was really cold in here last night...do you have a cold pill or something?" Moon shook his head. "No but I can still help you...here can you just lean back against the bars for a quick second." he said. "Wha-why?" Sarah asked with a worried tone. "It's alright, I'm not going to do anything to you, I'm just going to help you." he responded.

Reluctantly, Sarah turned around. After a few seconds she felt something on her head, and she felt a warm, soothing sensation go through her body. Her nose began to clear up and she finally didn't have the urge to sneeze all the time. "Wow, you cured my cold." she said. "Yeah, it was pretty useful getting through the valley." Moon said as he sat down next to her. "So you really are Moon...the boy in my dreams...I was told you were my destiny." Sarah said dreamily. "I know it sounds hard to believe but because of that...I knew you would rescue me...if you didn't I would have had to try and bust out of here myself." Moon grinned, made a motion with his hand at the bars, then at the door to the cage. "You can't open the door." Sarah said. "You'll have to get the key back from Carpainter." Moon flinched, that was kind of the outcome he was hoping to not do. "I've heard you've got powers why can't you just do something about this?" he asked. Sarah shook her head "PSI Fire α!" she said. A little bit of fire shot out of her fingers, "I could try...but I don't think I have the energy to keep enough fire out to melt the bars...and I doubt freezing them will do me any better." she continued.

"I've heard from the cultists that Carpainter can control lighting." Moon winced, "I'm already familiar with that." he said. "Sarah...how am I supposed to take him on?" Sarah walked over to her backpack, took out a small badge, and handed it to him. "This is a Franklin badge," she said. "I read in a book that these badges were used by ancient PSI users to reflect lighting, so maybe this'll work!" Moon took the badge and pinned it on him. "Thanks Sarah." he said. "I'll wait here until you defeat Carpainter. Don't forget to come and get me...I wish I could come with you though, I really wanna let that man have it for kidnapping me!" "Sarah he doesn't know any better." Moon said. "He's under Giygas' control the only reason he kidnapped you was to hopefully make the prophecy not come true." Sarah sighed, "I know, the dream told me all about him, that paint he uses puts people under Giygas' influence, but his high priest, Pokey Minch, he doesn't have any paint on him." Moon shook his head. "D-did you just say Pokey Minch?" he asked. "Yes...why do you know him?" Moon hesitated, "He's kind of my neighbor...and I also happen to be his...bodyguard." he said. "YOU'RE FRIENDS WITH THAT EVIL BASTARD!" Sarah shouted. "He's the one who kidnapped me!"

Moon paused, for as mean as Pokey was and for as greedy and selfish as he could be. He never thought Pokey would do something like this! "Sarah...I'm sure he's just under Carpainter's hypnosis like everyone else...once we take care of Carpainter everything should go back to normal." Sarah looked at him with sadness, "Moon...listen, I hate to do this...but Pokey's not who you think he is...he's working with Carpainter willingly...he's also the one who set up the human sacrifice altar for me." Moon went furious. "HE WHAT!"

Sarah's eyes widened in horror, not because of the fact he shouted at her, it was because of his power levels, in less than 5 seconds she had sensed that Moon's power had tripled in strength! Moon caught sight of her eyes and instantly fell quiet, Sarah felt his power decrease instantly. "Sorry." he said quickly and nervously, "I didn't mean to scare you." For some reason, Sarah found herself giggling at that. "Don't be silly, you don't have to apologize, I was the one in the wrong, I shouldn't have told you that he's the one who recommended it when I don't know whether or not he's under the influence of Giygas." she said.

Suddenly her stomach growled, she went kind of red. It wasn't her fault, she was only given a banana last night and she had no idea how long it had been since then. Moon glanced out the open door, which he then closed and locked. "The sun's starting to go down Sarah...you hungry?" he asked. Sarah looked up eagerly. "Yeah...I haven't eaten since yesterday." Moon rummaged through his backpack for a bit and handed her a burger, croissant, and then, "I wasn't sure what type of soda you liked...department store was out of water so...I hope you like Coke, Moon said sliding the bottle through the bars.

The two ate in silence. Sarah couldn't take her eyes off him however, he wasn't handsome by any means, but something about him struck her interests, sure the dream had made him out to be maybe someone better, but this...this oddly worked well for her. He was...different...from what she was used to, people were constantly nice to her in school but that was two reasons, the first was because of her powers...the second was because she was popular, everyone in Twoson knew about her, her powers, her family's business. She often found herself swarmed with tons of kids her age, trying to talk to her for whatever reason. Unlike these kids, Moon treated her strangely...in a good way, as she ate he talked about the adventure he had so far, how he had fought an ant made of full titanium, a gang leader, the police force, and then about a sanctuary.

"So...what do these "Your Sanctuaries" do?" she asked after he finished. Moon shrugged, "I'm not quite sure, Buzz Buzz told me they would have something to do with my powers, so that's something I guess...I also can record the melodies that they play, here" he said taking out a shiny, white, round stone and tossing it through the cage. "Touch this to your forehead and take a listen." Sarah put the stone to her forehead and she instantly heard a bit of a melody play...strangely it sounded like the music to a melody she had been singing long before. The sound cut off after a while and she returned the stone back to Moon. "The melody was relaxing." she said. "I suppose that as we continue to visit these places we'll learn more of the melody?" Moon nodded. "The only problem is...I don't know where any of these places are."

Sarah thought about what he said. The sanctuaries were apparently special places with special power...special power...she remembered one of the cultists talking about a place close to here with some sort of mystical like properties...maybe that was what they were looking for? "Moon, I think I may know the location of another one." She said, "I heard one of the cultists talking about a place near here called Lilliput Steps, it's apparently a place with some sort of mystical properties to it..it's supposedly got a little footstep trail in the middle of it...or something like that, and there's also apparently some sort of monster guarding it!" Moon smiled, "Thanks Sarah, once I've got you we can both go check it out together, I might need you after all." he said.

"Well it's getting late," he said. "Tomorrow I'll deal with Carpainter and get you outta here..I hope you don't mind if I stay with you for the night?" he said. Sarah shook her head. "Please I'd really appreciate it if you did...I didn't get much sleep last night because it was so cold...maybe having you here will help." Moon took off his hoodie and passed it through the bars. "Here...I want you to wear this..I doubt that robe has really kept you warm...also not to be rude, but I don't really think it suits you." Sarah slid the blue robe off her revealing her purple dress underneath. "Thanks," she said. "Pokey insisted I put the thing on for the human sacrifice. Now that you're here, I don't need to have it on." she continued, taking the hoodie from him and putting it on her. "Won't you be cold though?" she asked. "I'll be fine." he said. "Though...if you don't mind, I might need something to try and get me to sleep...Sarah grinned, I know just the thing to help you. To his surprise she started humming a melody similar to the one he had heard from Giant step, then she started singing.

_"Take a melody_

_Simple as can be_

_Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony_

_Raise your voices_

_All day long now_

_Love grows strong now_

_Sing a melody of Love_

_Oh Love"_

She finished singing and looked at Moon, who was staring at her. She went red "Not a music person?" she asked. Moon continued to stare at her in silence for a few seconds before saying. "No, not usually a musical person...but...you're voice is beautiful." he said before going red himself, Sarah went even deeper red at these words. "Thanks…I'm glad you liked it, it's the same lullaby my mother used to sing to me as a baby" Moon felt a little dizzy, "well it helped," he said. "I feel a lot more relaxed and calm." the two laid next to each other on the floor, "Well...goodnight Sarah." Moon said. "Goodnight Moon," Sarah replied.

**(Mindscape)**

Sarah arrived in an empty void of sorts...it reminded her of the dream she had when a voice told her that Moon was her destiny. "I thought I wasn't supposed to be hearing from you again." Sarah said into nothingness The voice didn't respond to her, she looked around her, there wasn't anything around...it was just her, in a void. Well, on the bright side it gave her a place to think, she sat down and began to think. "What exactly does it mean." she asked herself. "We're both bound together, by our hearts...he's my destiny." she frowned. She felt an affection for him, it was strong...very strong. "Won't he think I'm crazy though, we just met each other...surely he wouldn't want to jump into something straight away...but I feel it, it feels real, strong, and it definitely is not going away...I'm not sure what I should do...if only I had some advice" she said.Suddenly, light shone in front of her and a girl much like her came into view, she had a pink dress, a red ribbon, and sapphire blue eyes. "This has to be the strangest dream I've ever had." Sarah said. The girl shook her head. "I assure you this is far from a dream...you must be Sarah am I right?" she asked. "Yeah...but...who are you?" Sarah asked. "My name is Paula...Paula Jones Polestar." "You can't be...I don't have a sister." Sarah said. "I'm you Sarah...from a different world...it's...kind of hard to explain." Paula said with uncertainty. "I'm not really used to this...hell, I barely understand it myself, but my friend said that we are supposed to give you, Moon, and the other 2 advice whenever you need it." she continued. "I guess that this is individual advice though...which would explain why it's just you and me...give me a minute to think about what it was that happened that I'm supposed to help you on.

Sarah's heart sank...if this was truly her from an alternate timeline, no way in hell was she going to get the advice she wanted to hear. She wanted so badly to just tell Moon how she felt, but this advice was literally from herself...from the future...or something like that. Sarah sighed and braced herself for the obvious answer to come.

"Oh...that's why I'm here." Paula said after a while. "So I assume you love Moon?" she asked. Sarah nodded. "I know I'm supposed to give you advice that I took...but I regret the choice I made." Paula said sadly. "What choice did you make?" Sarah asked. Paula hesitated. "All you need to know is I regret my choice...do what you think is right Sarah...and don't be afraid to make your move." Sarah stared at her in confusion "I must go now Sarah...but don't forget, do what you think is right, don't be afraid to do it!" Paula said before vanishing.

Sarah stayed put for a few moments after Paula had left. "Do what I think is right." She said to herself. "She said she made her choice...and that she regretted it...what does that mean, did she regret telling him how she felt...or did she regret not telling him." she continued to think about all of this. "I think...I should tell him..he deserves to know whether or not he has the feelings to return...but I think I'll tell him when I feel the time is right." she said after a while.

**(Reality, Early Morning)**

Moon awoke inside the cabin shivering for a bit. He glanced over a Sarah who was sleeping soundly, he felt a strange sensation looking at her, she was cute, kind, and even caring. He wasn't used to someone like her, after years of being pushed aside, without friends, and basically acting as a bodyguard to Pokey he for once found someone he actually felt comfortable around. Though there was something that worried him, he wasn't sure what exactly caused this, but he felt like Sarah wasn't meant to be just his friend. He wasn't sure what to think about that...sure he felt a special connection to her, but he didn't want to declare that to her. If Sarah didn't have anything to give back to him, it'd make their adventure really awkward.

"Damn it," Moon said to himself, "Don't suppress them, that isn't right…keep them with you, you never know what could happen." he wasn't sure why he was even thinking like this, he wasn't at all ready to have a girlfriend. This was the only thing holding him back...if Sarah decided to make the first move, that'd be much easier on him.

Sarah started to stir for a bit before waking up. "Good morning." Moon said to her. "Did you sleep okay?" Sarah yawned, "Yeah...I slept alright...how about you?" "I slept soundly...had to, I've gotta take on Thor without his hammer...so...that shouldn't be to hard." Moon said. Sarah laughed, "You're...unique." she said. "I don't think I've ever met someone like you." "That makes two of us." Moon said cheerfully. "Um...sorry about breakfast...but I don't have anything...kind of didn't expect to have to take on this whole thing." Sarah shook her head. "It's fine Moon, there's a store in the town, and a little market with bananas and eggs near that shop, you can probably pick up some food there for later."

"I think I'll save shopping for when I've gotten you out of here, you're definitely not in a position to travel at the moment...also...my backpack's been quite close to filling up." Moon said. "Really? What are you carrying in there?" Sarah asked. "Well, my ATM card, the sound stone, a phone from Apple kid, a map, and Apple kid's pencil eraser...and also this strange capsule I found in the valley." he said taking out a little capsule of juice. "You know what this is?" he asked showing it to her. Sarah looked at the capsule, it was small but she felt a strange property being given off...it made her feel...luckier. "I think that's a luck capsule...there are lots of things like it, you should drink it." She said handing it back to him. Moon opened the capsule and drank it, and when it entered his body...he felt himself feeling luckier. "Well...you should probably get going." Sarah said. "Don't worry about me, just kick butt like I know you can!" Moon nodded. "See you soon Sarah, I'll be back with that key!" he opened the door and exited to the most unfortunate sight in the world...he did not like it one bit.

**It really goes without saying that the English translated version really made Paula into a better character. In the Japanese version she says she would've started to cry. But the English translation fixed that real nicely. Paula, to me at least, is the furthest thing from a damsel in distress. She can take care of herself, something that most of your average video game girls can't do. Ness surely got the better end of the stick here.**

**This moment to me is really special, of all the ways Ness and Paula could've started their relationship, what I just wrote out to you is how I would've played this entire thing out. Now I do want to give out a mild spoiler for my plans currently going foward with this story**

**While it may seem silly I'm going to kick off the MoonSarah love relationship early. It was brought to my attention by a close friend of mine that this probably wouldn't be the best way to write out the story. But I wanted to try and be unique with my retelling and I feel like having the whole "their both in love and know it" would make for some...interesting moments. **

**I'm sure some of you are probably thinking of a certain moment where the effects of this declared love relationship create problems. This alone was my original goal of setting the whole thing up early and I hope you all enjoy it.**

**As always, thanks for reading, leave a review with any suggestions or advice you may have, I'd love to hear it. **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Love in the Lilliput Steps

It was Pokey, he was wearing a blue robe similar to the one Sarah had been wearing, and he was looking at Moon with an evil smile on his face, there were two cultists standing behind him. "Hey Moon!" he said. "You're just here to ruin this for me aren't ya?" "No Pokey...I'm just here to take Sarah...she's one of the chosen on-DON'T CALL ME POKEY YOU IDIOT! Call me Master Pokey, and she is NOT one of those chosen ones...you just think she's pretty don't you! WELL TO BAD BUSTER! She's supposed to be my wife as high priest in Happy Happyism!" Moon rolled his eyes. "You should join us, but I know you won't...I'm glad I joined." Pokey continued. Moon noticed that there was no paint on Pokey's face, was he...actually doing this willingly?

"I'm not gonna fight you, but these guys will...LATER POTATER!" Pokey shouted running off.

"Well...I guess that I've gotta do this." Moon said. Suddenly another crow squaked and flew over with the cultists. "Okay that settles my decision PSI Rollin α!" Multi colored beams of light shot out of his hand and knocked out the cultists and crow. "There problem solved." he said moving onwards. He walked back into the cave only to be tackled by another cultist. "Not today kid, I've got you right where I want you! Bring on the bucket!" he shouted. Moon noticed another cultist running over with a bucket of paint...he didn't have enough room to make a shield and that much paint would surely pull him under the influence of Giygas.

Then something went through him like a shock of electricity...he quickly grabbed the cultist's who was holding down arm and shouted. "PSI Paralysis α!" the cultist's grip loosened, "What the hell, why can't I feel my arms...they're numb!" Moon kicked the cultist off him and quickly swung his bat at the other one.

SMAAASH!

The cultist collapsed to the ground of the cave. "Phew, that was close...that was also much more helpful than Hypnosis." Moon said as he walked out of the cave. He headed straight towards the building in the center of town, now equipped with the Franklin Badge, he felt more prepared for Carpainter and his lighting. Moon walked through the door there were still a whole bunch of cultists, "Freaking morning prayer." he said to himself as he walked through the door on the other side. There was a different man behind the desk this time. "Do you have an appointment with Mr. Carpainter today?" he asked. "Yeah...Moon, the chosen one!" Moon grumbled.

"I'm sorry but he doesn't have you in his appointment book." the man said. Moon rolled his eyes. "You know what, screw this, I'm going upstairs you people are all crazy." Moon walked back upstairs, there was Carpainter, once again praying towards the statue. He began talking once Moon entered, however, this time, it was directed towards Pokey.

"Ah Pokey," he said. "Is everything ready for Miss Sarah's sacrifice?..or did she see the error in her ways and decide to become our high Priestess?" I might as well have a bit of fun with this. Moon thought. "She decided that she wanted to go on an adventure with Moon, like faith foretold!" he snapped. Carpainter turned around quickly. "Ah...Moon." he said. "I thought you had given up and returned to Twoson...or had died from that blast...seriously how the hell are you still alive?" Moon shrugged "Not sure, I think...Sarah might've given me power can you please let her go!" "Miss Sarah...has become vital to our religions success she will either give me her fire power, or join us as a high priestess!" Moon groaned, "Shut up...she wants nothing to do with this cult, she wants to be with me on my adventure to destroy Giygas!" To his great surprise Carpainter didn't move but he heard the cold voice go through his head.

_"Hello Moon, it's me again...you know, all this talk of Giygas certainly tells me that you're dead set on reaching him! To bad you won't though."_

"Shut up...I don't have time to deal with you at the moment." Moon said.

Carpainter raised his hands and sparks began to shoot out of them. "I hope this works." Moon said. "CRASHING BOOM BANG!" Carpainter shouted. Thunder shot out of his hands and shot towards Moon. He braced himself for the shock...and suddenly the lighting self centered itself towards the franklin badge then shot back at Carpainter. It struck him hard, he was blown into the wall and came back up coughing. "Ugh, annoying, little, nosy brat!" he said. "PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted. "PSI Shield α!" Carpainter coughed. Moon's multi colored beams vanished before hitting Mr. Carpainter. "Hahaha," he laughed, "You thought you could do that...no no, none of that!" he shouted. "Damn it there goes my easy win." Moon said to himself.

"Now, Now," Carpainter said, "You seem to have peaked Sarah's interest...perhaps if you were on our side she would join." he said dipping his brush into the paint. Unlike the cultist's brushes this brush was much larger. "Shield α!" Moon shouted. He felt his body being enveloped by a warm light. Carpainter swung his brush at him, but it merely grazed his shield. Moon then whacked Carpainter with his bat he struck Carpainter in the legs which threw him back in pain.

Suddenly Carpainter's hand flashed green, "Oh come on...he can use Lifeup too?" Moon said to himself.

"It's not over until I say it's over Moon, sorry but I can not allow you to take Sarah away from us." Carpainter kicked him using his other foot. Moon collided with a wall. "After I've dealt with you, I'll take care of Sarah...shame you couldn't save her, it was all she wanted. But she'll make a nice little human sacrifice...we'll be unstoppable after that THE WORLD WILL BE PAINTED BLUE!"

"Moon...Moon?" Sarah's voice rang through his head. "Are you okay?...keep fighting...you have too...help me! Save me!

Carpainter readied his brush yet again. Moon quickly jumped up and ran over to his arm. "PSI Paralysis α!" he shouted. Carpainter suddenly couldn't move. "You're not going to ever lay a hand on Sarah again...I don't care what the deal is...stay away from her!" he said swinging the bat with all his power.

SMAAASH!

Carpainter fell onto the floor, Moon stood still, he felt dizzy...but he shook his head to regain his senses. Then he heard the cold voice speak to him again.

_"Finish him off, he's done so much to hurt her, you, and you're adventure...he's nothing more than a useless piece of trash who got in your way of greatness!"_

"SHUT UP!" Moon shouted. This was apparently loud enough to jolt Carpainter up. "Ow...my head...what...what the hell happened...why am I dressed in blue...I don't even like blue!" he noticed Moon with his bat still out and instantly backed away in fear. "Whoa, kid, don't do that, I haven't done...oh...oh...my, I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was doing." he said hastily. Moon looked at him. "What's the deal then...and also where did you get this statue?

Carpainter wiped his brow, "Ah the statue...a wonderful man name Lier sold it to me. You see it right...the Mani Mani Statue?" he asked. Moon nodded. "Ever since I got that statue, I began to do peculiar things...I was semi-aware of myself and there was some sort of...cold voice telling me to get people under this magical paint that I kept randomly getting." he said "Please forgive me if you can...I just wanted to have a normal life...just be a normal man with a pretty cool statue. I'll be getting rid of it now.

"Okay, that's cool and all Mr. Carpainter, but I kinda need the key to mountain cabin prison cell." Moon said. Carpainter fumbled around in his pocket for a bit. "Tell Sarah I'm deeply sorry for everything that's happened...I hope you and her can both forgive me." Moon sighed, "Listen Carpainter just get rid of all the blue stuff and we'll be good." Carpainter nodded. "Here, take the key and go." Moon thanked Carpainter and walked downstairs.

When he exited the building the sun was still just about coming up. He immediately made his way back to the cabin...however before he reached the cave. Pokey approached him, "Ugh what a horrible nightmare." he said unconvincingly, Moon saw that he had no paint, Pokey had done everything willingly. "Somehow I woke up...Moon, let's go back to Onett, and be friends alright, give up your adventure...Sarah won't appreciate you, she won't like you, she'll be just like everyone else at school...I'm your only friend." Moon hesitated, A part of him told him to just do it, Pokey was right, no one had ever liked him other than Pokey, people would usually walk all over him, What made Sarah any different? But the other part of him told him to move on and forget it, Pokey hadn't been under hypnosis, he had kidnapped Sarah, set up a human sacrifice altar, and then tried to kill him without the influence. Moon wasn't going to turn Pokey over to police or anything, but the fact that he had done that willingly was still shocking to him, but he still didn't want to give Pokey up as a kind of friend...even if he was...just the way he was.

"Sorry Pokey," Moon said. "Buzz Buzz gave me a job, even if Sarah ends up hating me, I have to save the world." the two of them looked at each in silence. "Fine," Pokey snapped after a minute. "Go on with her...see if I care...you're dead to me Moon!" Moon was horrified, he had given Pokey an explanation that implied no hatred, disgust, or distrust in his first friend..and this was what he got? "Pokey...I!" Pokey turned and ran away. "See ya around...sucker!" he said with a hint of anger in his voice.

**(Peaceful Rest Valley)**

Moon arrived back at the mountain cabin, he was still pretty beat up about what had just happened. "I better hope that this thing with Sarah and the other two goes well, otherwise I'm back to having no friends when this is over." He pushed open the cabin door, Sarah was waiting by the closest corner to the door holding her teddy bear. She eagerly jumped up when he entered the cabin.

"Moon! Did you get the key?" she asked. "Yeah, I got it," Moon said holding the key out to show her. "Are you hurt?" she asked. "Nah, you're Franklin badge protected me." "I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." She said with an embarrassed look. Moon unlocked the door, "Please, you've caused no trouble whatsoever, you're fine" he said. "Thank you...Moon! You're just like I imagined you would be. Moon went red. "Come on now." he mumbled, "you probably were expecting someone a bit stronger...maybe more handsome." She shook her head, "Nope, you're perfect just the way you are...although I'm sure that some people in Twoson are worried about me...we should probably get to that sanctuary and then head home." Moon stared at her in daze, up close she looked even brighter...and a lot cuter. "Getting back there might be dangerous though...but we can do it if we can combine our strength." Moon grinned. "I've seen that deadly PSI power of yours, you'll definitely make the trip home easier!" he said. "So let's not waste anymore time then!" Sarah said exiting the cage.

"Um Sarah." "Yes Moon?" "You kinda left your teddy bear in the cage." he said pointing to the bear in the corner. Sarah went red, "Ah...yeah, you won't mind if I hold onto it will you? It is my comfort object." Moon shook his head, nah you're fine...but um, you still kinda have my hoodie as well..also here take the Franklin badge back...just in case we run into more lighting problems. Sarah took off his hoodie and handed it back to him before taking her Franklin badge and pinning it onto her. "Okay then, let's go to Lilliput Steps!"

The two exited into the now noon hanging sun. Only to hear a familiar sound playing in the near distance. "Moon..what's that noise?" Sarah asked. "I've heard it before but I can't seem to remember...remember...Oh Damn it, not him again!" Sarah looked out into the open distance as a man wearing glasses, a suit, with a top hat, fell out of the sky landing on the ground perfectly normal, he also had a camera.

"Pictures taken instantaneously I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself, okay, get ready for an instant memory." "Dude what the hell...we're not ready for a picture." Moon snapped. The man ignored him, "Look at the camera! Ready? Say Fuzzy Pickles!" he said snapping a photo. "Wow what a great photograph it will always bring back the fondest of memories!" he said before vanishing.

"Who the hell was that?" Sarah asked. "I'm not sure, he first appeared when I was leaving my house, maybe he was sent by my father to record my adventure or something?" Moon said. "I assume we'll be seeing him again...so...yeah." "You're okay with this strange man following us around taking our picture?" Sarah asked "I mean...it would be nice if I could have those photographs after our adventure...just so I could remember you and the others. Anyways, let's get back to Happy Happy so we can go to Lilliput steps.

**(Happy Happy Village)**

The two arrived on the outskirts of Happy Happy Village. Sarah attempted to make a beeline straight for the cave but Moon held her back. "You're in no shape to just barge in there." he said. "It is dangerous, monsters, animals, or plants may jump on us immediately...also you have no weapon of any sort." Sarah frowned, "I have my PSI powers...that should be more than enough." Moon shrugged, "You can't use them forever, they aren't infinite...so if you run out of energy before we reach the boss, you're kind of a sitting duck." he said. "Just for your safety, we should probably get you a weapon or something."

The two entered the drug store and looked around for a bit. After a bit of looking Moon came back over to her holding a blue frying pan. "Here, I think this will work just fine." he said handing it to her. "Don't you think this is a little stereotypical?" Sarah asked. "Listen unless you know a place where someone is selling laser guns and swords...this is the best we've got." he said. "While I'm here I think I'll also upgrade my bat." he said looking at a blue sandlot bat. Sarah examined the bat, $98 for the bat and $56 for the frying pan! "Moon how the hell do expect us to pay for this?" Sarah asked. "I doubt you have that much saved in your ATM account!" Moon laughed, "Oh this is going to blow your mind...my father is depositing some of the money he makes into my ATM account, but the thing is...apparently he's working somewhere with a pay so high, that he can deposit so much into my account!" Sarah blinked. "How much do you have?" she asked barely trusting herself to speak. Moon walked over to the ATM machine and used his card to check the balance. "$3500" he said. Sarah's eyes widened, "I mean...even if all we are doing is upgrading our weapons in every new town...there's not much else I'll need money for other than hotel rooms and food." he continued.

Sarah glanced over, across the room there were bracelets made of copper. "Moon didn't you say a lot of the monsters were attacking arms more often than not?" she asked. "Yeah why?" he asked. "Well...there are these copper bracelets on sale...maybe that'll help?" Moon looked at the bracelets. "You know what...let's do it." he said.

The two bought the equipment and two croissants just for later, then exited the store. "Alright let's head on to Lilliput Steps." Moon said as the two walked towards the cave.

The two entered into a cave, it was quite calm and screen...unless you wanted to count the chance of enemies...and a few human bones around. Sarah drew in a breath as they both walked on. "Why does this not bother you?" she asked as they walked past a skull. Moon shrugged, "Buzz Buzz said these places were special and if they are the key to helping us beat Giygas, it only makes sense that whatever he places in charge will not hesitate to kill just in case. Speaking of which.

Danger!

A mole with sharp claws jumped straight at them. Moon quickly hit it away into the wall with his bat. However another mole jumped over at Sarah, "SARAH!" Moon shouted. She quickly turned around and saw the mole "PSI Freeze α!" she shouted. A beam of ice shot out of her hand and encapsulated the mole, then with one swing from her frying pan she knocked the mole aside. "That was...so sudden...I barely had time to make a move." she said. "That's how it'll be most likely, these things won't hesitate to attack, they were born to play rough!" Moon said as they continued through the cave. They arrived at a dead end...but there was something on the ground. Moon picked up a little necklace or charm of sorts and handed it to Sarah. "Here, put this on...it'll probably be pretty helpful later down the line. Sarah nodded and slipped the charm around her neck.

Danger!

Three bats swooped down from the ceiling and began to scratch and bite at both of them. Sarah knew what to do with this many enemies attacking both of them "PSI Fire α!" she shouted. The small bit of flames shot out of her hand hitting all three bats and sending them to the ground. "YES!" she shouted. "Don't get careless Sarah...you never know what could be lurking around the corner." Moon said. As he finished that sentence Sarah felt something slash her arm causing her to cry out in pain. Immediately Moon saw another mole getting ready for another slash. Those moles moved fast so there was no way he could make it over, then he felt something inside him, it told him to speak out and launch!

"PSI Flash α!" he shouted, a blast of dark green light went off and suddenly, the mole walked around like it was drunk, it was wobbling a bit and walking in random directions. Sarah was still holding onto her other arm looking at the mole just walking around like an idiot, there were tears of pain in her eyes. Moon ran over to her, taking her arm with the huge gash now in it he placed his other hand over it. Sarah cried out in pain again since he had touched it. "Sorry Sarah, but I have to do this if it's going to get better." he said quickly. His hand flashed a lighter green color and Sarah felt the same sensation that had taken her cold away yet again flow through her. She sighed in relief as he withdrew his hand from her. "Sorry I hurt you...but I needed to heal you." he said nervously. Sarah giggled, "you don't need to apologize for anything...you weren't the one hurting me, you were only trying to help me." she wasn't sure why he acted so nervous around her...he seemed to feel like most of the things he did were deservant of something like this. She thought it was cute though...he showed a caring personality...but it did concern her that he was apologizing for something so basic. After all, he was healing her.

The two continued through the cave without many problems...except for the occasional group bat attack. But they went down with just one fire so it wasn't that much of a big deal. Then the two arrived near an opening and were greeted by a bear with a face that screamed cuteness.

"Awe, look at how cute it is!" Sarah said. Moon looked at the bear, it had a button eyes and a button nose, but it was still a bear...a really strong looking bear. Suddenly, without warning it charged at both of them. "Okay...it's bad!" Moon said grabbing Sarah and moving out of the way. The bear shot passed them and broke through a stalagmite on the ground. Both of them winced, the bear turned back around "PSI Freeze α!" Sarah said. The only problem was...no ice shot out of her hand. "You're out of energy...I'll deal with it." Moon said. "PSI Rollin α!" Sarah watched as multi-colored beams shot out and headed straight towards the bear it. The bear was blown back through another stalagmite and collided with the wall of the cave.

"Rollin?" Sarah asked. "Yeah...it's what I've called it since I learned it." Moon responded, "It's pretty strong don't you think." Sarah nodded, compared to her freeze and fire, those beams made it look like nothing, it was a little embarrassing for her. Sure she could also cast a PSI shield...but what use was that? Moon moved her over to a butterfly that was in the cave. "Here," he said "Touch this, it'll refresh you so you can use PSI again." Sarah thought this was silly but she obeyed and touched the butterfly. Everything flashed purple, then she felt relaxed and warm inside. "It's like the butterfly is magic." she said. "Well it's called a magic butterfly according to Buzz Buzz so...that's something." Moon said.

The two arrived near the exit to the cave. "Wow, that didn't take as long as I thought it would." Sarah said. "It also wasn't that difficult." Moon groaned, "Yeah...but there's supposed to be a monster guarding this place...where is it?" he said. The ground suddenly began to shake, and in bright flash of white light, a giant mole now stood before both of them.

"Hello Moon...Sarah!" it said it a cold voice. "You finally got here, this is the second "Your Sanctuary" location, but it is mine now, take it from me...if you dare!" it continued.

Sarah felt Moon's hand on her shoulder, "Shield α!" he said. Her body was suddenly surrounded by light. She turned to him. "What was that for?" she asked. "Last time I faced one of these things...it got me good, I'd rather keep you safe as long as possible with this shield up." he said. "What about you though?" she asked with worry. "I'll be fine, I may need to cast the shield up again if it breaks...don't worry about me, just hit this thing with everything you've got." he responded.

"Offense Up α!" the mole roared, after a bit of red light shone around him, he bounded straight towards them. He scratched at Moon's chest throwing him backwards. "PSI Freeze α!" Sarah shouted. The ice beam shot out of her hand...but it didn't do much, it froze a bit of the mole's fur before shattering. "Foolish girl." it said slashing at her, the shield of light came up protecting her from the slash. "PSI Fire α!" she shouted. The flames grazed the moles fur, much like PSI Freeze it didn't do much. The mole laughed "I don't know why Master Giygas was so worried about you and him...your attacks are pathetic, you cannot defeat me!" it said slashing at her again the shield popped back up to help her but the slash made it shatter!

"PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted. Multi-colored beams of light hit the mole forcing it into the side of the cave. It hesitantly got up...then Moon heard the cold voice go through his head. He also heard the Mole's voice as well

_"What the hell is the problem?"_ the voice snapped. "Master forgive me...the girl is not a problem but the boy is far more powerful than you think I need to deal with him first!" the mole responded. _"NO! You were given orders, TAKE OUT THE GIRL FIRST!"_ silence for a bit then. "I understand sir...but if the boy keeps attacking me...I'll have no other choice...he's protecting her with everything he's got!" more silence, "_I don't give a damn Mondo Mole, if you don't deal with them here, that means Giygas must warn The Trillionage Sprout! By then they'll have met Erick!"_ more silence then. "Sir you've got to understand, the boy is casting shields, he can heal, and Rollin is far to powerful, he's not going to give me an opportunity to attack her!" _"To my knowledge neither of them are currently..." _Moon snapped himself back to reality, he knew what was about to be said and he immediately ran towards Sarah.

The mole understood as well, because it got up and bounded towards Sarah. "SARAH!" Moon shouted. Before she knew what had happened she felt herself being pushed aside. She fell to the ground and when she got up, the mole was now on top of Moon slashing him repeatedly. "Foolish boy...you just made my job so much easier." it said. Moon struggled for a bit before firmly grabbing the mole's claw. "PSI Paralysis α!" he shouted. The mole continued to slash at him while laughing. "Stupid...did you really think the numbness would settle into me.

Sarah watched in horror, Moon had just put himself in death's door for her, she wasn't doing much damage to the mole and he obviously knew that. Yet in the face of danger, when he could've healed her afterwards, he chose to save her...but..she couldn't do anything back. All she could do was stand there and watch as he got slashed at again and again...but she knew she had to try. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" She cried. "Sarah...NO!" Moon shouted, the mole turned around, "Perhaps I should...he's too weak to do anything now...so I'll make my move." it said. "NO!" Moon shouted whacking it his bat. The mole cried out and then slashed him across the face. Then, it turned around and charged at Sarah.

It was then that Sarah felt something shoot through her. It felt powerful...it was something she had never experienced before. Then, she heard herself saying something. "PSI THUNDER α!" She shouted. A huge bolt of Lighting struck the mole square in the face it was thrown backwards into the wall of the cave, it collapsed onto the ground and moved no more. Sarah stood in place for a few moments, she felt dizzy after using Thunder...she wasn't sure why...perhaps when discovering a new power one felt dizzy and uneasy? Then she heard a cough, it startled her but she remembered why.

She ran over to Moon who was lying on the ground of the cave near the exit. She saw that he had claw marks and huge gashes on his legs, the worst however was his face, across his left eye there was a huge tear in his skin. "Moon?" she asked nervously. "S-Sarah...Sanctuary...get me in the sanctuary." he said before coughing. "WHAT!" she shouted, "No I need to get you to hospital...or...can't you just heal yourself?" Moon forced himself up, Sarah found it impressive that he was even able to move considering how badly he was cut. "W-what, do you think I've been trying to do?" he asked weakly. She noticed that his right hand was flickering green light and wasn't as cut as the other parts of him, he had been trying, but he was too hurt to refresh himself fully and he was losing a lot of blood based on what had been slashing at him.

"L-listen, I don't...have much time to talk at the." he said before coughing. "Just...help me get into the sanctuary...I'll explain later." Sarah, very reluctantly, agreed and allowed him to put his non cut hand around her as she moved into Lilliput Steps. Upon arriving in the little outlet, she took notice to the trees, there was a footprint path going across the ground between two of them. She moved herself and him under the closest tree and sat down, placing Moon's head on her lap just for support.

"Thanks." he said softly. Sarah felt herself getting ready to cry, "Moon...I'm sorry...if I wasn't…" she was cut off by Moon placing his non cut hand over her mouth. "You are not weak," he said removing his hand from her. "I don't want you to ever think like that, Your Thunder was quite shocking." he said before laughing very weakly. He was trying not to alarm her, just keeping her calm while the sanctuary did it's job. However, he could tell it wasn't working, he felt a drop of water land on his head.

"Moon...I am weak...if I had been more prepared, you wouldn't have had to waste all your energy on me!" she said through tears. "Please...just let me get you to a hospital, I don't want you to die...not when I haven't told you that I love you!" she cried.

Moon felt his heart beating so fast that he thought it might explode. "Am I hearing things?" he asked himself. "No way she actually loves me...not that quickly." he was now met with an unfortunate conflict, declare his feelings...or wait? "I'll wait, if I tell her now...that might make it worse...besides...she may not actually mean the love I think."

"I'm not dying Sarah." he said to her. "Just look." through her tears Sarah looked at him, the slash mark on his face was shrinking slowly it was also closing. "The sanctuary heals us Sarah, I'll be alright...stop crying...please, you are far from weak, you're strong, kind, and caring," he said going red.

Sarah rubbed her eyes and stopped crying. "Thanks." she said. "I needed that." Moon smiled and sat up next to her, his face now no longer bleeding, not a scar in sight, he was back to normal. A soothing melody started to play for both of them as they both began to relax, Moon for a brief moment saw a baby in blue hat in front of him before it vanished. It was so peaceful being in one these places again...but he could tell that Sarah still felt uncomfortable. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for an awkward conversation.

"Sarah?" he asked. "Yes?" she asked with a bit of concern. He went bright red. "About what you said earlier...do...do you actually love me?" Sarah felt herself heat up with embarrassment, she buried her face in her hands and said. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said that...it was a slip up, and I know it's silly for me to think that way Moon, we just met after all, but I do actually love you, I've loved you since I first heard about you!" Moon felt himself getting warmer as well, she didn't know anything about him or vice versa, he wasn't at all ready for a girlfriend, especially when he had never had a friend.

"Sarah...are you sure you love me?" he asked. Sarah blinked, that was and odd question. Was she sure? Of course she was...she had just spilled the entire thing out! Come on this couldn't be news to him...she had boys in Twoson who told her they loved her surely with Moon's caring personality it was the same with girls in Onett...especially with a kid like Pokey around. This was what she wanted, this is what felt right! "I'm 100 percent positive!" she said. Both of them looked into each others sapphire blue eyes. Moon sighed before saying, "If that's what you want Sarah" his face got closer to hers. "Then...I love you too." he said closing the gap between both of them.

Sarah felt herself ready to explode with joy, he did actually love her back, and they were both kissing! She was in a daze, everything was fading around her...now it was just the two of them. She was into the kiss so much that she didn't even realize when he separated from her she just sat there with her continuous dazed expression in her eyes. She was snapped back to reality when she heard his voice...instead of sounding happy, excited, or loving it was...panicky?

"Sarah..I'm sorry, I didn't know if you wanted to...I just assumed that you would...please, don't be mad." he said quickly. Sarah gave him a look of confusion, that was probably the last way any normal person would react to a kiss...especially after all of the talking. She had told him that this is what she wanted and he still was sure he did something wrong. "Moon...I wanted that, it felt amazing...there's no reason to be afraid." she said. "As long as we're together, nothing can go wrong...we're more than friends now...it's what was meant to happen!"

**(Somewhere)**

A tall white alien was sitting in a cave watching a boy with a blue hat and a girl with a blue ribbon on some sort of...projector. When the two began to kiss it slammed it's fist into the ground. "DAMN IT!" it shouted. A starman dressed in gold teleported next to him. "What is the problem Master Giygas?" it asked. The alien turned around. "Get the hell outta here, nothing is wrong Super, just keep the Stonehenge operation going. The Starman stood still, "Don't make me repeat myself." Giygas snapped. The starman quickly teleported out of the room.

Giygas turned back to the image, the two kids were now walking back through cave. "That stupid idiot." Giygas said. "Those two weren't meant to fall in love! The mole was supposed to nearly kill her so she'd keep her feelings in not spill them out. Actually, on second thought, this might make things easier. It laughed coldly, "Moon..Sarah...Erick...Dyson! You'll all fall...you'll be totally unprepared to face the embodiment of evil!"

**That's all for this chapter guys. What do you think about Giygas showing up in this chapter? **

**As I mentioned last time my whole take on Moon and Sarah's relationship is for a bit of added fun when rewriting Earthbound. How do you think this will affect some major points of Earthbounds story? **

**Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time for chapter 7!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Runaway To Threed

Moon and Sarah made their way through the cave out of Happy Happy Village and moved through Peaceful Rest Valley. Sarah waited for him to take her hand...but he didn't. "It's dangerous Sarah, the robots and UFOs can give you colds...I don't want to spend a lot of time healing both of us continuously and we only have a limited amount of energy." Sarah rolled her eyes. "Don't be uptight, we'll be fine, I came here all the time to practice using my powers." As they walked over the second bridge Sarah remembered something.

"Moon, how did you get here exactly? The current is too strong for anyone to swim across, the secondary bridge was blocked off by a Pencil Statue, and the first bridge was destroyed by Carpainter." Moon smiled and pulled out a remote, "Apple Kid's invention, it's called the Pencil Eraser...it can destroy anything that looks like a pencil." Sarah looked at him like he was crazy. "That's...incredibly specific...and also way to convenient." she said. Moon suddenly stopped her. "What's wrong?" Moon pointed over towards a tree with eyeballs blocking their path.

"It's just a tree, we can deal with it easily." Sarah said. "Yeah...how about we don't." Moon responded. "Why?" Sarah asked.

Danger!

A UFO whirled around from behind the tree and fired a beam at both of them. They both quickly ducked out of the way. "PSI Freeze α!" Sarah shouted. The UFO was encapsulated by ice and it fell to the ground shattering into pieces. "SARAH!" Moon shouted. She turned around only to find that the tree had moved towards her, it's branches were now pointed towards her like swords. "PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted. The tree was hit by a multi colored beam it didn't take the tree out but it didn't move. Sarah stood there...did Rollin...freeze it? Moon quickly ran over to her side. "Run!" he said. "Wait why?" she asked.

KA-BOOM!

The tree explode throwing both of them into the side of a cliff. "That's...why." Moon grunted as they stood up. "Are you alright Sarah?" Sarah was pretty taken back from this question. She was holding her head, she had been cut in several places by the rocks, and her leg was probably twisted. "Do I look alright?" She asked him. "Sorry," he said quickly and nervously. "It didn't hurt me as much as you...I was only asking incase you felt like you didn't need healing at the moment." his hand flashed bright green and he ran it over her head. The soreness and cuts from the blow into the cliff vanished instantly and she felt much better.

Suddenly, a familiar tune began to play. They both turned around to see the photo man land on a rock in the center of the river near a waterfall. "Pictures taken instantaneously! I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself." he said. "Dude, are you following us and just deciding on when to take these?" Moon asked. "Sorry kid I can't tell you my secrets though I must admit you two do make a good couple." the photo man responded. Both Moon and Sarah went red. "Okay now, get read for an instant memory look at the camera say FUZZY PICKLES!" the camera flashed and the man vanished.

"I mean he's not doing anything wrong per say...but I wish he would stop taking photos." Sarah said. "I really don't mind him, as long as he doesn't take a picture somewhere stupid." Moon responded. "Other than that he's not a really a bad guy."

The two finally arrived at the cave the lead them back towards Twoson. "Wow we made it back in like...30 minutes." Moon said. "So what'd we do now?" Sarah asked. "Well, I suppose we can go back to your house...we might as well inform your parents that you're setting off on an adventure with me." She nodded. "Let's not waste anymore time then." she reached for his hand, which he swiftly moved away before she could reach.

"Why won't he hold my hand." Sarah asked herself, "he said he loves me, he should want to hold my hand...did I do something wrong?...he should be used to something like this." Moon could tell that Sarah felt uncomfortable about something. "Are you sure your okay?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah I'm fine, just thinking about something."

The two arrived at Polestar preschool they were immediately met with the same three kids Moon had seen the day before run over to Sarah squealing with joy. "Sarah you're home!" the boy said. "Where were you...what happened?" Sarah smiled and hugged each of them. "You don't need to know where I was or what happened...what you do need to know is that I'm safe thanks to Moon."

The kids continued to crowd around her. Moon had strangely moved away from all of them, he leaned against the fence and looked at them. Sarah's like...a mother too these kids. he thought. To think all this time...she grew up happy, with friends, she's respected I'm way out of her league. He shook his head. "You need to stop thinking that way." he told himself, "She loves you...this is better than you could've imagined!"

_"You keep telling yourself that...but it really is all the same."_

"Not you again." Moon said to himself. "Go away, I want nothing to do with this."

_"You say that, yet, I keep coming back! I always come back Moon!" _It said harshly.

"GO AWAY!" Moon shouted, he was suddenly snapped back to reality. The kids were still huddled around Sarah. Moon shook his head "As I thought, he's back...I can't let her see him, not ever...guess I have no choice but to talk to him later." he said to himself.

The kids eventually let go of Sarah and waved goodbye to her as they walked away. "Are you sure they'll be alright?" Moon asked. Sarah nodded, "Yeah they'll be fine, they all live just up the street...anyways, we should probably talk to my parents and then make our way to Threed."

The two entered the house only to be immediately jumped on by Sarah's mother. "YAHOO! You rescued Sarah!" She cheered. "Thank you Moon, I can't explain it, but somehow I know that with Sarah's miraculous powers and your great courage will allow you two to stand up to any challenge." Moon grinned, it felt nice to not be yelled at immediately by an adult. "You're father just heard about what happened, he's apologized to Everdread for suspecting him." Sarah smiled "That's good, I've been telling you guys for years that he's not a bad guy...speaking of which, where is dad?" he mother laughed. "Where do you think your father is, he's still looking for you, I told him not to be such a worrier but you know him...um Moon, if he seems off set or acts weird...he has it in his head that you want a little action with Sarah...so sorry ahead of time if that conversation goes south." Moon went red.

"Um...yeah...about that." Moon said. Sarah's mother raised an eyebrow. "Sarah...did you two?" Sarah went bright red. "Yeah, we kissed." her mother shook her head. "Sarah your father's not ready die...and I'm pretty sure Moon shouldn't be put in this position...you know what your father will do!" Sarah's mother responded. Sarah went deep red. "Yeah...I know...but I do love him Mom, and he loves me back." Her mother starred into Moon's eyes in silence for a little before saying. "Moon, you have my approval to date Sarah...my husband will probably be home soon so I recommend you think about what you should say to him...he can be...challenging."

When her mother left the two in the dining room, Sarah immediately turned to Moon with a panicky voice. "Moon I'm so sorry for this...I should've…" Moon held up his hand. "I'll be fine Sarah." he said. "But you saw how my father reacted when I went missing, he wasn't too fond of you when I first told them about you, Moon he's going to EAT YOU ALIVE!" almost on cue, Moon heard her father's voice. "THEY DID WHAT!"

The door to dining room swung open at light speed and Sarah's father entered the room. Moon could tell he was doing his best to stay calm in front of her. "Sarah...go to your room, I want to talk to Moon one on one!" he gritted. "Dad please...No Sarah! I want to get to "know" your boyfriend before I approve of this, I'm already irritated that you two locked lips already so unless you want me to start shouting at you...I recommend you wait in your room until this is over." Sarah glanced at Moon with worry, he simply smiled and nodded. "Yes...dad." Sarah said hesitantly, "I'll wait."

When Sarah had gone upstairs and Moon had heard the door click shut Sarah's father turned to him. "Okay kid...prove yourself to be worthy for Sarah. Just answer a few questions for me." Moon knew what was coming, and frankly he didn't want to answer any of them, but he also wanted to be with Sarah. Thankfully, he had one trick that he could pull.

"Sir, if it's all the same to you...I'd like to just take a hard pass on your questions. I don't think I'm worthy enough to love Sarah anyways...I can sense when I'm outmatched...so if you want to pull the plug, you have my full support." Her father gave him a look of disbelief, "Sarah said you two were bound by your hearts...and this is the answer you give!" he asked. "Well...yeah...I mean, Sarah's clearly way out of my league...you obviously don't want me to be with her...and if I'm being honest...STOP!" her father shouted interrupting him.

"I don't know what type of mind game you think you could play on me but…" Moon didn't even want to bother with this. "Sir I assure you that what I told you is far from me trying to play a trick on you...just know that I care deeply for your daughter and she cares for me...but you get the final say, so if you want to stop this...that's fine by me." her father sighed. "You're...special, I don't think I've ever seen anything like you."

Sarah walked back downstairs. "Dad, I want you to know that…" her father held up a hand to silence her. "Moon thank you, you definitely are the boy who will save the world, like in Sarah's dream. Sarah, I'm sure you'll be a big help to Moon...It's not everyday that a father lets his daughter embark on a journey to save the world...and with her boyfriend no less." Sarah's eyes widened, "You mean...he has your approval?" she asked in disbelief. Her father nodded. Sarah squealed so loudly Moon thought she might shatter a window. "THANK YOU!" she shouted hugging her father. "Just please, go pack your things then you two can continue onwards." he said. Sarah nodded and ran upstairs faster than light.

"Moon promise me this." her father said to him. "No matter what happens between both of you, whether your in love or not, keep her safe, she is your number one priority in all situations...do you understand." Moon nodded, "I promise I'll protect her until the end of time itself."

Sarah came back downstairs, nearly tripping because of her speed. "Be careful," he father said. "I'll still worry about you." Sarah shook her head. "Don't worry about me. Moon and I can take care of ourselves...according to the voice, we meet another friend in Threed. If we combine our power, no one can beat us! Now wipe your eyes, blow your nose, and smile before we take off." her father nodded sadly, "Goodbye Sarah, don't worry I won't cry anymore!"

The couple exited out into the afternoon sunlight, "What time is it?" Moon asked her. "When I checked my clock in my bedroom it was only two, it's only a 30 minute bus ride to Threed...so, I think we can get their."

"Hey are you Moon?" a person wearing red asked. "Yeah why?" Moon asked. "Everdread is looking for you, he said he's got something to give to yeh." Moon facepalmed, he had forgotten about Everdread, good thing this person came to tell him. The man ran off towards Burglin Park.

"So you met Everdread?" Sarah asked. "He's such a nice guy isn't he...everyone thinks that he's a criminal but I've talked with him, he's just lonely." Moon nodded, "Yeah he's not bad, if you don't mind Sarah, before we meet with Everdread, I want to thank Apple Kid for his invention."

The two arrived at his house and knocked on the door. Apple kid opened it eagerly, "Hey Moon, wow you rescued Sarah! Good job!" he said. "What can I do for you?" Moon shrugged. "I wanted to thank you for the Pencil Eraser, it actually was pretty useful, without it, I wouldn't have been able to rescue Sarah!" Apple kid looked at him with skepticism? "Are you saying that to be nice?" he asked. "No I'm not, I hope you keep making inventions...we'll be on our way to Threed so if you want send us inventions be sure to give us a call." Apple kid saluted. "I won't let you down buddy." he said. "Also here, take this." he handed Moon a broken machine. "This is a Counter PSI Unit...I found it in Burglin Park, It's a bit broken but I've heard that a kid named Erick might be able to fix it...if you ever meet him, be sure to give this to him." Moon took the machine from him. "Thanks Apple Kid." Sarah said sweetly. "Moon your backpack is probably pretty full, I'll hold onto that for now." Moon nodded and handed it to her.

"Hey wait did you two say you were heading to Threed?" Apple kid asked. "Dude the buses have stopped going there." Moon and Sarah were both horrified, "What why?" they asked. "Apparently ghosts in the tunnel won't let anyone in...but don't worry there is a way to get past them!" Apple kid said. "It's just a hunch, but I think they might not like upbeat and groovy music, you know things like Rock and Roll! When I was walking through the tunnel one evening, I was listening to the Runaway Five's newest hit, and the ghosts stayed clear of me for awhile."

"Hmm..thanks for the tip Apple Kid." Moon said. The two began their trek towards Burglin Park. "Well this is really good!" Sarah said. "We can ask the Runaway Five to help us they can drive us in their tour bus over to Threed!" Moon shook his head. "One problem, the manager of the theater is holding them their until they pay off their debt...not sure how high that debt is, but I doubt we'll be able to afford it!" Sarah frowned, "Damn," she said. "I was really hoping I'd get to meet them." Moon suddenly remember something. "Actually they've wanted to meet you too Sarah...I'll take you to Chaos Theater after we meet with Everdread, that can be our first date!"

Sarah squealed with delight, "You become a better boyfriend by the minute!" she said. Moon went red, "Yeah...sure." he mumbled. Sarah thought he was going to take her hand but yet again, he didn't. Maybe he'll hold it during the concert? She thought. The couple arrived in Burglin Park and made their way towards Everdreads house. Moon knocked on the door, it was opened a minute later and Everdread pulled them inside.

The inside of his house was small, it was one story and there wasn't much inside. Everdread sat them down on a sofa and sat in a recliner chair in front of them.

"Listen here Moon...I was going to ask you to be my partner. But I know you'll refuse, it's written all over your face...plus your with Sarah now...take good care of her." the couple looked at each other then at him, "Mr. Everdread." Sarah said. "What did you want to give us?" Everdread nodded. "Wise girl, she always remembers, Moon if you had accepted I was going to give you some money. But I actually can't keep the money now anyway. Let me give this to you." he withdrew a huge wad of dollar bills and handed it to Moon. Moon and Sarah's eyes became the size of golf balls. "It's 10,000 dollars, you can use it anyway you like!"

"Everdread, we can't take this!" Moon said. "Actually you kind of have too...you can't refuse my generosity! Just accept it." he said smiling boldly. Moon took the wad of bills and placed it in his hoodie pocket. "Um Everdread." Sarah asked. "This money is legally yours right?" Everdread laughed hysterically, "That's for me to know and for you to never find out!" he said. Moon gave Sarah a nervous look.

"Now with that outta the way, I plan on looking for the Mani Mani Statue, that Lier X. Agerrate unearthed in Onett, I've heard it can be sold for quite a high price. I'll see you too in another time, another space." he said. Moon and Sarah waved goodbye to Everdread and left the house.

"Well this is fantastic, we're probably holding onto illegal money, maybe even counterfeit!" Moon said as they made their way to Chaos Theater. "I mean...it can't be counterfeit, but we should still hold onto it just incase." Sarah said. Lucky and Gorgeous were still hanging outside. "Must be a break in between shows." Moon said. "I'm surprised that people aren't crowding them!" Sarah said looking at them. "Probably almost showtime, let's hurry."

The two walked over to Gorgeous and Lucky who immediately turned over to Sarah. "Wow, you actually came here with her! Good on you playboy." Lucky said "Tell you what, since you two are probably big fans, we'll give you a backstage pass, you can come talk to us before the show if you'd like. We gotta get in there though, it's nearly showtime!" the two men ran into the theater.

"Well...whoop de do." Moon said. "I guess that means I don't have to pay for tickets." "Moon this is perfect, we can ask them how much debt their in! If we're lucky, maybe it won't be that high and we can help pay it off...then they could get us to Threed!" Sarah responded. "Well we might as well go then, if we wanna get to Threed."

Then they heard music once more. "Oh come on really! Twice in one day?" Moon asked. The photo man landed on the ground, "You two know the drill, Pictures taken instantaneously I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself! Okay get read for an instant memory look at the camera. Ready? Say Fuzzy Pickles!" the camera flashed causing both of them to blink, the Photo man disappeared. "Well, it's a picture of our first date...so...this gets a pass." Moon said.

The two entered into Chaos Theater. "Tickets please!" The woman behind the counter said. "Moon showed her the backstage pass, she nodded and let both of them through the door. "The show will start in about 10 minutes you all can go into their dressing room if you wanna meet them." she called after them. "Very good." Moon said.

The two walked into the concert hall where there were still a bunch of open tables. "We'll grab one later, for now we need to know how much debt their in." Sarah said. As they approached the dressing room door, a girl in about her late teens stepped in front of them. "Lucky from the Runaway Five said I could go backstage...only problem is I lost my pass, I heard that you two have one...could I please come with you...I'm sure security will stop me if I try without one."

"What security." Moon asked. "There's literally no one guarding the dressing room!" "Excuse my boyfriend." Sarah said pulling him aside. "Moon she's a crazy fan girl, she just wants to desperately go backstage to bug them. We can't bring her with us." Moon turned back to the girl who was giving them a look that he knew all too well, it said "Do it...or else!" "I don't think she's gonna leave us alone if we don't" Moon whispered, Sarah sighed, "Fine she can come."

"Fine we'll take you backstage." Moon said. "Really, thanks, this rocks...I'll pose as your older sister. Let's go, ooo my heart is pounding!"

The three entered into the dressing room where the girl immediately jumped towards one of the members. She shrieked so loudly that the other member came running over. "OH NO WHO THE HELL LET HER BACK IN HERE!" Lucky shouted. "Sorry, she wouldn't leave us alone unless we did." Moon said. Gorgeous sighed. "It's alright kid, so you came here with Sarah, that's pretty cool, but I assume that both of you have a lot of questions correct?" they both shook their heads. "No...then...why'd you two come back here?" Lucky asked.

"We need to get to Threed," Sarah said. "But the ghosts won't allow anyone through, our friend said we could probably get their if we played loud and upbeat music...so we were hoping you all could maybe drive us there." Lucky peered at them from behind his glasses. "Listen kid we'd love to help you, but we've been stuck in this dump for years...and our manager Poochyfud, isn't gonna let use go until we pay off our debt!"

"How high in debt are you?" Moon asked. "We owe him 10,000 dollars!" Gorgeous said. "If I had that money, I could pay off my debt and move over to the next town." Moon and Sarah looked at each other, "We happen to have 10,000 dollars...it was a um...reward for helping the police. We could pay off your debts for you." Lucky raised his eyebrows, "if you really could, please do it, we'll drive you to Threed if you can get us outta here." Moon and Sarah nodded. "So after the show you all talk to the manager and give him the money. Tomorrow, we'll drive you two to Threed." Lucky said. "Our show doesn't end till 10 and we might need to make some repairs to the old tour bus I hope that's not a problem." Moon shook his head, "Sounds good to us...come on Sarah let's give them some space and get a table.

The couple sat down around one at a table near the back of the hall. "So we gotta wait until tomorrow, little unfortunate but we'll take what we can get." Moon said. A waitress came up the table, "May I get you two something to drink?" she asked politely. "Yeah we'll both take a Coke," Moon replied. "Okay." the waitress said before walking away.

Sarah was eagerly looking around the theater, she had never been to a concert before and the fact that her first one was also her first date was too much to handle. The stage was well crafted and there were already some instruments on the stage...two microphones stood on the stage as well. Then she caught the eye of another boy around her age. "No not now," she said to herself. To her great relief, a speaker started to announce the start of the show.

_"Yeah baby that's right! Tonight, you got the Chaos Theater's Soul Men comin' at ya! Rockin and Rollin live on this stage for a limited time only! The world's greatest Bluesmen, the Runaway Five! And here they come! Oh yeah! Baby! "_

"Here are your drinks," the waitress said setting two glasses of soda down on the table. They both watched the Runaway five perform their song, Lucky and Gorgeous were both singing. One person was playing a guitar, another had a keyboard, A saxophone player, and a drummer. "I thought there were only five members." Moon said. "Oh yeah, the keyboard player isn't an original member...he joined very recently." Sarah responded.

Sarah waited for him to take her hand...but he didn't. "Okay this is getting worrisome," Sarah said to herself. "Why doesn't he want to hold my hand?" Moon continued to stare at the stage in silence, Sarah had a strange suspicion that he wasn't really enjoying the concert, he had told her he wasn't a music person. "Sarah?" "Yes Moon?" "I'm going to get a refill...are you okay?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm fine...you go on ahead." she responded.

"You know what...I've had enough," she said to herself. "Why is he acting so strange, I want him to hold my hand...but he won't...I want to know why." She knew he probably wouldn't want her to ask here, so she had to figure out a better time to ask him.

"Heh, hey beautiful" a voice said. "Ugh...please no," she said to herself. A boy with jet black hair took the seat on her left. "Fancy seeing you here all alone, did you sneak out of your parents house?" the boy asked. "Go away Dan," Sarah scoffed. "Why? You're here all alone, you may need someone to protect you, people can get quite crazy in here." Dan said slyly. "I have a boyfriend creep." she said.

Dan was a kid she absolutely despised. He was a jock, and pretty handsome one to, girls clung to him to like metal to a magnet. But he was also a complete jerk, he'd talk down to other kids, he was a complete bully, and to top it all off he was quite arrogant. He also cared way too much about his hair. He'd constantly smooth talk others and he was quite good at getting himself and her alone. It also didn't help that his family was quite wealthy. Sarah always felt like he had something wrong with him she also had a feeling that he stalked her as well.

"Please you don't have a boyfriend." Dan said harshly. "I'm the perfect match for you Sarah...you and I would be perfect together." he continued placing an arm around her. "Hands off me you little creep." she snapped shoving him off her. "I hate you, you're a giant pain, and a complete jerk!" Dan laughed, "Don't kid yourself beautiful...everyone tells you that I'd be the perfect boyfriend for you, your parents, the preschoolers, your friends...so why don't you just make it official?" Unfortunately for Sarah, this was true, everyone and their moms told her that Dan would be perfect for her.

"I will never love you," Sarah said angrily. "You are the biggest jerk I've ever met, which says a lot. You don't know what the hell I've been through but I can assure you that it drove me further away from ever loving you. Plus, you have the stupidest haircut I've ever seen!" Dan raised his hand and slapped her across the face. "You can say you don't love me and call me names, but you DO NOT insult my hair." he snarled. Dan had hit her so hard she had fallen out of her chair and onto the floor. "Moon where are you?" she asked herself as she got back up.

"Excuse me sir, but you happen to be in my seat." Moon said walking back over with a refilled glass in his hand. "Oh yeah, and what are you gonna do if I don't give it up?" Dan asked. "I suppose...Sarah and I can always move to a different table if you want to sit here." Moon responded. "What interest do YOU have with Sarah?" Dan snapped. "Well I happen to be her boyfriend!" Moon retorted. Dan looked at Sarah with a furious look. Then he howled with laughter. "REALLY!" he shouted. "Sarah Polestar, the daughter of a highly respected family, is YOUR girlfriend?"

"Yeah...and if it's all the same to you, I'd like to sit next to her." Moon said. "Dan looked at Sarah in rage. "YOU...put your love, in this?" he snapped pointing at Moon. "This is trash, people like him are worthless! I am your perfect match Sarah not this filth!" Sarah was now the one mad, "He is not filth, he saved my life...unlike you he actually has a heart!" Moon looked between both of them, he wasn't sure what was going on...and to be honest, he kind of wanted it to stop. Then he noticed the red mark across Sarah's face. This made him lose control.

"Okay you abusive bastard!" Moon snapped. "You wanna start something?" Dan stood up. "What the hell makes you think you can talk to me like that? Do you know who I am?" Moon's eyes flashed red. "I don't give a damn who you are, did you or did you not slap her?" he gritted. "Yeah I did...and quite frankly, I don't regret it...what the hell are YOU gonna do about it weakling?" Moon's narrowed, "I'm going to teach you lesson that you'll remember until the end of time itself." he snapped. "You and what army?" Dan snapped.

Moon pulled out his Sandlot bat, "I wouldn't call it an army, more like a...weapon!" he snapped swinging at Dan's head.

Dan collapsed to the ground. Sarah's eyes widened in horror. "Moon you can't do that!" she snapped. Moon blinked then shook his head, "Well it turns out I can...because I just did." he said bitterly, "Moon you may have killed him!" she said nervously. Moon felt around for a pulse, "Nope he's alright." Moon said. Dan grunted and made a motion to get back up. Moon pinned him down. "PSI Paralysis α!" he whispered. Sarah watched a tiny electrical shock come out of his fingers.

"What the…why can't I feel my hands...or legs?" Dan asked as he laid helplessly on the floor. Moon tapped Sarah on the shoulder and pointed towards the exit, "Let's get out of here," he whispered, "The show's almost over." Sarah glanced at him nervously, "Moon we can't leave him like this." she whispered back. Moon frowned, "He HIT you Sarah!" Sarah rubbed her face, "I know...but still his parents should probably be informed." Moon sighed. "Fine, tell the people in front of us that he just collapsed or something...actually, hold on." he grabbed a half filled drink from the other table and poured it on Dan. "Okay now you can tell them." he said. "What was that for?" Sarah asked. Moon grinned, "If we talk to Poochyfud fast enough, you'll see."

Sarah tapped the man in front of her, "What is it girl, I'm tryin to watch the show!" he grumbled. Sarah smelt something heavy and gross on his breath, she wasn't sure what it was. "Um, my...friend here...he kind of collapsed, could you inform security?" the man grumbled something about the youth of today, "Fine...you go I'll let the waitress know when she comes back with my drink." he said before hiccuping.

The two walked out of the concert hall, Moon tapped the lady in charge of checking tickets on the shoulder. "Oh pardon me," she said moving out of the way. The two turned towards a cop who was standing by a door. The cop stopped them, "Where do you two think your going?" he asked. "We wanted to talk to Mr. Poochyfud...is that alright...we heard he doesn't talk to anyone until after the show." the cop relaxed. "Ah, okay then, you two go right on in." he said.

Sarah noted that Moon seemed relatively upbeat about what had just happened. "I hope he doesn't take to long, I really want you to see what I did to that dumbhead." he said happily. "If not I'll tell you later." Sarah was a little worried about what he did to Dan, after whacking him with a bat, and paralyzing him, she was a little concerned that the drink he spilled on Dan was acid. "Moon...please tell me that he's not going to die because of it?" she said nervously. Moon laughed. "Don't worry, I'm just making sure he learns his lesson, and if we see his parents, he'll definitely never be a problem for you ever again."

The two entered Poochyfud's office, a portly man with a goatee was sitting behind his desk. He had dark black hair and was wearing sunglasses. "Ah you two must be big Runaway Five fans." he said as they entered. "What can I do for you?" Sarah took a deep breath, "We were wondering how much money the Runaway Five owes you?" she asked. "They owe me 10,000 dollars girl, a price that I'm 100 percent sure you two couldn't afford." Poochyfud responded.

Moon reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. "Um...the police gave me a reward for helping them rescue Sarah Polestar, they told me it was about 10,000 dollars I kind of need to get to Threed and was hoping the Runaway Five could get both of us through the ghost tunnel." he said handing the wad to Poochyfud who drew back in surprise. "Yipes, um okay, you surprised me!" Poochyfud said. "Now I'm not sure what to do, I've got my money, of course the Runaway Five are free to leave. I've got no complaints now that I've got my money. Let me call them in and tell them the news!" he pressed a button on the intercom, "may the Runaway Five please come into my office." he said.

A few minutes later, everyone except the keyboard player entered Poochyfud's office. "Well listen here boys do I have news for you!" Poochyfud said. "These two kids payed off your debt for ya, you all are free to go!" The members all cheered in unison. Gorgeous approached him. "Well what do you know? These two nippers took us from a nightmare to a dream!" he said. "Thanks alot you two...come on boys say your thanks and let's get outta here!" he said walking out of the office.

Lucky approached them. "Ow, thanks a bunch you two, we'll get you Threed tomorrow, we promise...it's the least we can do for you getting us outta this dump!" The drummer approached both of them, "Don't worry y'all I'm a good driver, I'll show ya tomorrow." Followed by the Saxophone player, "Let's head on to Fourside baby, I'm sure our ol' hunk o' junk will get us there and you two lovers to Threed." Finally they were approached by the guitar player. "I hope I haven't made a spectacle of myself, thanks kids." he said. With that all of the Runaway Five left.

Poochyfud turned to Moon and Sarah, "Okay you two can get outta my office now." he said. Moon and Sarah both nodded and exited out of his office then out of the concert hall into the now Moon lit streets of Twoson. "Let's go to your house to spend the night," Moon said. "In the morning we can go with the Runaway Five to Threed. Sarah stopped him, this was her opportunity to ask him. "Moon it's really late, almost ten, my parents are probably asleep now, why don't we just get a hotel room." she responded. Moon hesitated, "Wouldn't you rather..No Moon, this is how we are going to be sleeping for the majority of the adventure, we might as well start to get used to it." she said. Moon sighed, "I suppose you are right Sarah." "By the way...what did you do to Dan?" She asked.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU DAN?" A female voice shouted. The two turned to see Dan, along with his mother and father exit the theater, "Honey calm down before you wake the people." his father said. Sarah made a motion to move away, but Moon stopped her. "Hold on now," he whispered. "The fun's just getting started watch this." he moved both of them over to Dan's family. "Excuse me, is he your son?" Moon asked. "Yes...why?" his mother snapped furiously. "Your son happens to be a real jerk, he slapped my girlfriend." Moon said pointing at Sarah, his parents looked at the red mark on her face. Sarah saw Moon give Dan an evil look, Dan looked like he had just come out of haunted house.

Dan's parents looked at him with fury and disgust, then they turned back to Sarah. "We are so sorry for anything our son has ever done to you and...your family...please don't tell them about this." his father said. "We'll make sure he never does anything like this again. Come along now dear."

Dan's mother dragged Dan away by his wrist, Sarah heard her muttering to herself. "First alcohol now this, you're in deep trouble Dan!" Moon was chuckling to himself. Sarah couldn't believe anything of what had just happened. "Moon...what the hell just happened?" she asked.

Moon laughed, "I'll tell you later, let's just get that hotel room!" Moon responded.

Sarah was a little uncomfortable with this whole situation now, sure Dan may have slapped her, but Moon not only hit him with a baseball bat, but also paralyzed him, made it seem like he drank alcohol, and got him in severe trouble with his parents. It was honestly a little scary for her. But at the same time, it felt right, after all the crap he had put her and her friends through, it was kind of enjoyable to watch him get what he deserved.

The two entered into Hotel Twoson, The man from behind the desk looked at both of them. "Why are you two young ones out so late?" he asked. Before either of them could answer he took notice to both of them. "Um, you're Sarah Polestar aren't you?" he asked. "Yeah...why?" Sarah asked. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at home?" Moon quickly took charge of this situation and tried to speed things along, "Hey I just rescued her from a psychotic cult, it took us a while to get back through the valley, we just got back here, she said she didn't want to wake her parents up at this time...could you please just give us a room for the night?" he asked.

The man sighed, "Very well, that'll be one hundred dollars please." he said. Moon paid the man and took the key to the room.

The two entered the hotel room and prepared themselves for bed. "Moon I wanted to ask you something." Sarah said as she took her teddy bear out of her backpack. "Yeah?" Moon asked. "I've been waiting for you to hold my hand all day...we're a thing now, we got my father's approval, why aren't you making the most of it?"

Moon hesitated and went semi red, "I...uh, I wasn't sure you were ready...I'm not really...familiar with this whole thing." he said. Sarah looked at him, this was a little disappointing for her, she had expected something along the lines of "I was waiting for the right moment." but nope, he was just nervous. "Moon, I wanted us to be in love, I want you to hold my hand...you have no reason to be afraid." she said climbing into the bed. "Now let's get a good night's sleep we got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Moon nodded and climbed into the other bed. Sarah sighed, she wasn't going to put up with this either. She got out of her own bed and laid next to him on the other bed.

"What are you doing?" Moon asked her. She honestly felt like slapping him at this point, the fact that he didn't understand that she wanted to sleep with him was irritating, but if she wanted to make this work she was going to to have to be patient. she took a deep breath, "He's just nervous, try to make him relax...make him think he's doing it for you." she told herself. "I'm scared Moon," she said with sad voice, "Please can we just share a bed, I'd feel much more comfortable knowing your right next to me." She felt him squirm for a bit in the bed. "Alright Sarah," he said. "You can sleep with me and tomorrow I'll start holding your hand." Sarah smiled to herself she wanted him to put his arm around her, as she expected, he didn't do that either. She laid in silence for a bit holding her teddy bear. After a while she heard Moon breathing giving her a cue that he had fallen asleep, she turned over and looked at him through the moonlight.

"You're special." she whispered, "I know you are...you and I will be the ultimate team, we will love each other until the end of time, I'll never stop loving you!" she said before falling asleep.

**(Mindscape)**

Moon arrived back in the empty void, "I know it's risky, she could see this, but I have to do it now...I can't afford another slip up like that to happen again."

Suddenly a shadow similar to Moon appeared in front of him, it had blood red eyes, and it wore a black hoodie and hat, .

_"Well isn't this a nice change of pace...looks like you called me for a change."_ The shadow said.

"You know why you're here Dark!" Moon responded. "Can you please just go away?"

_"I can't go away Moon, I'm a part of you!"_

"Just go away, I'm not letting you take control again!"

"You let me take control for a bit! Why _couldn't you let me finish the job?"_

"You were scaring her!"

_"She can handle it Moon, I exist in her too!"_

"Maybe so, but still, you scared her, there's a reason, I stopped letting you take control!"

_"Sarah is nothing more than my playmate...if you ever feel nervous to do stuff with her…"_

Moon cut him off. "Listen here Dark, if you ever lay a finger on her, or the other two! I promise you I will find a way to never let you take control again!"

The Shadow bowed, _"As you wish Moon...I won't touch Sarah, or Erick, or the Samurai kid! But you will have to let me take control if I feel the time is right!"_

"That's not how it works Dark, you know that! We made an agreement about your control years ago, when do you take control again?" Moon snapped.

The Shadow frowned._ "Only when you wish, or if you become too angry!"_ it mumbled.

"Another thing, QUIT TALKING TO ME ALL THE TIME!" Moon snapped.

The Shadow laughed _"No, I enjoy our little talks Moon, It's been so long since we've been in action, this adventure is the perfect time for us to...catch up! Sorry but I'll continue to be there."_

"One last thing," Moon said. "If Sarah ever tells you stop...you better stop! I don't care what your doing, if your in control, and she says stop, you better stop!"

The shadow crackled,_ "Ergh, you're no fun anymore, Mark my words I'll find a way to gain permanent control Moon, or at bare minimum get you to listen to me!"_ with that the shadow vanished and Moon felt himself being thrown upwards

**(Reality)**

Moon awoke in the Twoson hotel room, he glanced to his side, it was around seven in the morning and Sarah was still sleeping soundly next to him holding her teddy bear. He decided to let her sleep a little longer and began to move about, his head was killing him after last night, he concentrated on lifeup only this time when his hand flashed green...nothing happened. "What the hell...I just had a good night's sleep why isn't the pain?" he cut himself off and held his head again. It throbbed, it was like he had been whacked with a piece of metal.

_"Ness...Paula...Jeff...Poo...the original four...now...theres...these four!"_

"Moon?" Moon shook himself awake, Sarah was standing in front of him she looked concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Huh...oh...yeah...I'm fine." he responded. Sarah didn't seem too convinced by this. "Are you sure...Moon please, if something's wrong tell me." Moon took her hand, "Sarah, I promise you, if something's wrong, you'll be the first person I tell, I promise you...I'm fine...don't worry." Sarah looked in his eyes for a while, "Alright." she responded, "Let's get going then...we need to get to Threed!" Moon nodded, "Yeah, the Runaway Five is waiting."

The two walked outside in to the crisp cool air, They saw that the Runaway Five's tour bus, was outside of Chaos Theater. "They kept their promise," Sarah said. "Let's get going."

"YOU!" they both turned around as Dan stormed up to them. "Sarah, go on ahead," Moon said completely ignoring him. "But Moon"..."that's an order Sarah" he said. Sarah sighed and walked on towards Chaos Theater.

"Listen here hoodlum!" Dan snapped when she was out of earshot. Moon's eyes flashed red, "Stay the hell away from her, she's my girl, not yours if I ever see you with her again I promise you I'll...OW!" Moon stopped him by grabbing his wrist and squeezing it like it was rope tied around a body part. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear when I whacked you with a bat, poured alcohol on you, and left you on the ground!" he said coldly, "So in the spirit of fairness, I'll give you one last chance...If I ever find out that you slap Sarah...or one of her friends again...I will make sure that you get far worse than what I did before!" Dan's eyes widened, "Y-y-you're freaking insane!" he said in horror. Moon tightened his grip "Am I?"

"MOON!" Sarah shouted, she ran over to him and quickly grabbed his arm. "I said go on ahead Sarah" he gritted, "Moon he may be a jerk and he may have hit me, but you don't need to do this."

Moon looked into her eyes...but to her...it felt like she was looking at someone completely different. Moon was giving off a semi-dark energy vibe, and his eyes looked cold and emotionless instead of the caring and loving look she was used to it was terrifying...she didn't understand what was going on but she was desperate to stop it.

"Moon stop...please...this isn't like you!" she cried. Moon closed his eyes and shook his head, Sarah felt the dark energy around him vanish...his eyes slowly went back to way they were supposed to. He immediately let go of Dan's arm. "Sarah..you're in love with a goddamn psychopath!" Dan snapped before running away.

Sarah looked at Moon. "What has gotten into you?" she asked with worry. Moon turned away from her, "I can't tell you Sarah...not now at least, wait until I've calmed down." Sarah wasn't going to accept that for an answer. "Moon you were giving off a dark energy, and you had a cold and heartless look in your eyes please tell me what's wrong!"

Moon grabbed her hand, it was sudden, but he was at least being gentle. "Sarah please, you have to understand, what you saw, is dangerous...I know it may seem like I'm avoiding telling you, but please...if I tell you...you'll have a burden to carry...I can't put you in that position...not until I know that you are ready for it...do you understand?" he asked. "I'm your girlfriend! I deserve to know what this burden is!" she snapped. "Sarah, please just for me, you may think you're ready, but I know you aren't please just wait." Sarah crossed her arms. "I don't want to wait Moon!" Moon sighed. "I promise you, I'll tell you before we meet our next friend, this...thing, it has to stay between both of us!" Sarah gave him a look, "Fine, I'll wait." she said.

The two arrived at Chaos Theater, Gorgeous was standing by a black tour bus, there were a bunch of suitcases tied to the top. He smiled as the two of them approached him

"Hey you two," he said. "Our ol' bus is all fixed up and ready to rock and roll...we asked around, and you're right, the ghosts can't stand no loud music." Moon and Sarah were both delighted to hear this. "Alrighty then," Gorgeous continued, "As promised, let's get you two to Threed!...oh but incase we accidentally get pulled over by cops...let me just ask you...do you want a ride?" Moon and Sarah both nodded, "Oh yeah, baby! Let's get on the bus."

They entered onto the bus with the rest of the Runaway Five and took a seat in the front. Once Gorgeous got on the driver said. "Okay guys, here we go!" he began to back the bus up. Then with a sudden halt he crashed into the sidewalk. "HEY SIDEWALK! The driver shouted. Get out of my way!" without warning he floored the gas pedal and the bus shot off down the road.

Sarah looked out the window nervously when they entered the tunnel, she saw actual ghosts, they looked solid somehow, and they also started to chase after the bus when passed. After a while, they gave up their pursuit and just fell behind. She turned to Moon who was still holding her hand but just look straight forward. "So...about our friend," Sarah said. "He's from Winters, you know the small country to the north...always really cold." Moon nodded. "I guess he's on vacation here in Threed or something...so that's pretty good...did this voice tell you anything about him?" Sarah shook her head. "No, just that he was from Winters." she said.

Moon glanced down. "What's wrong?" Sarah asked. "It's more of a concern, just that...there are ghosts guarding the tunnel to Threed...no doubt in my mind Giygas put them there, if that's the case then...what's the actual town going to be like?" he asked. "I don't know," Sarah said. "But don't worry Moon..it can't be that bad, we've fought UFO's and Exploding Trees...if we can deal with that then surely we can deal with a few ghosts! How bad could it possibly be?"

**That's all for now, honestly returning to Twoson was a bit of a breather for me, this chapter is long because there is still so much to do when you first bring Paula home. So I hope you didn't mind this extremely long chapter.**

**As I've mentioned before I really wanted to be unique with my retelling since all of them have something that sets them apart I drew a lot of inspiration off of what other writers have done and tried to do things my way. **

**Anyways, what do you guys think of my story so far, I'm always open to suggestions and improvements I could make for a more enjoyable story to others so if theirs something you think I should know, or if you just want to tell me your thoughts on what I've wrote I'd love to hear it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Trapped In Threed, The Zombie City!**

Once the tour bus had exited the tunnel Sarah drew in a breath...the town was...dark...but it was almost mid day! "Moon look at this." she said tapping him on the shoulder. Moon looked outside, the whole feel of the town was dark...depressing...and scary. There were barely any people outside and those that were didn't look too eager to talk.

"It's literally almost a ghost town!" Moon said as he looked out the window. They both looked at each other. "I hope our friend...whoever he is...is alright." Moon said quietly. Sarah nodded nervously.

The tour bus skidded to a halt, Gorgeous led Moon and Sarah off the bus. "Look like we have to say goodbye for now." he said. "This town seems pretty gloomy...but I'm sure you two can light up the place with your own little brand of sunshine!"

"Thanks Gorgeous, we'll do that." The man smiled and got back on the bus. When he closed the door, Lucky stuck his head out the window.

"Thanks again you two. Hope to see you again sometime!" the bus started to exhaust fumes again, "Look for us to be singing at some theater in Fourside!" he said waving goodbye. Moon and Sarah waved goodbye back to the Runaway Five as the bus drove off down the street.

"Um excuse me." a man said approaching them, "you two aren't from around here...also your just kids...but I need to tell you that zombies and ghosts run rampid in this town. You two should probably pick up some weapons from the department store if you are tourists, I doubt the normal Fry pans and Sandlot bats made in Twoson will help you much here." he said. "There's also supposedly an arms dealer around here who'll sell you some cool explosives like bottle rockets and bombs! Anyways, you two lovers stay safe now." With that he ran off down the street.

"Did he say..Zombies?" Moon asked. "Oh brother, what if they caught our friend?" they both shivered, that was an uncomfortable thought.

"I'm sure he's fine Moon, if we ask around I'm sure we could figure out who he is, he's probably well known, just like you and me!" Moon gave an uncomfortable smile,

"yeah...popular...just incase this takes longer than we think we should probably get a better bat and frying pan like the guy recommended." he said rubbing his arm. He still didn't want to tell Sarah that he wasn't well known, popular, accepted...he still had to tell her about Dark Moon though, no way she was letting what happened in Twoson go until she got her answer.

The two walked into the department store and bought their items, a Minor League bat for Moon, and a Thick Frying Pan for Sarah. After paying for that and a bit of food, Sarah made a movement for the exit when Moon held her back. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Um, do you mind if I call my mother, I want to check how things are going at home...also I need to talk to my sister, she's working Escargo Express, there are a few things I'd like to drop off. Sarah nodded, and he walked over towards the payphone inserted a dollar then called his mom.

"Hello Moon...is that you?" his mother asked.

"Yeah it's me," he responded.

"So how are things going?" his mother asked. "I heard that you got a girlfriend on your journey." Moon went red, this was what he was going to tell his mother. "I received a call from Mr. Polestar last evening, he told me about how Sarah was joining you on your journey...as an actual girlfriend." Moon groaned.

"As you can probably imagine I was surprised, I mean a girlfriend...just like that...I'm sure she's a good girl Moon and you she has my full consent...that is assuming she knows about...your problem?" Moon flinched, his mother didn't know about Dark Moon, no one did. The problem she was referring too was Moon's...well...lack of friends.

"Yeah...she knows." he lied.

"Good good, so she'll understand that you'll be quite...clingy...anyways, I'd love to meet her, but you can tell me more about her later...you see I have this weird feeling she's right next to you." Moon glanced to his side, Sarah was indeed right next to him, but she couldn't hear anything as evident by the look of concern in her eye. "Well if she is right next to you say hello to her for me...I gotta go now I'm in the middle of cleaning the toilet...Bye!" she said before hanging up.

Moon dialed the Escargo Express number he had received earlier as well. "Hello this is Escargo Express!" his sister said. "Is that you Moon? Big Bro! It's me Tracy, I'm working part time for the Escargo Express...what can I do for you? Do you need someone to come an pick up some stuff?" she asked

"Yes Tracy Sarah and I need to…" Moon slapped himself,

"EEK!" Tracy's voice rang. "You have a girlfriend? Just like that? Moon that's excellent, you're finally a normal kid! What's she like? Can you bring her over sometime? I'd love to meet my soon to be sister in law!"

"TRACY!" Moon shouted.

"Just saying Moon, don't mess things up with her...we'll send someone to pick up your things right away!"

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"My mother's fine with the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing." Sarah lit up at these words,

"Excellent...what about your sister?"

"She's sending someone from Escargo Express to pick up something...I doubt they can carry everything...so help me figure out what we'll need and what we won't."

The two sat down on a bench outside and looked through their stuff. "We probably don't need the backstage pass anymore." Sarah said. "It's only good in Twoson, not anywhere else." Moon nodded.

"Are you sure you want to keep your Teddy Bear with you?" he asked as she put it back in her backpack. Sarah nodded,

"I kind of need to sleep at night." she said going red.

"It's alright," Moon said. He pulled out the pencil eraser, "You never know when we might come across another pencil statue, no doubt in my mind Giygas had something to do with that." he said putting it back in his backpack.

Next, Moon pulled out the map he had checked out of the library. "It's kind of a waste of space." he said looking over the map. "I'm sure we can figure out where the only places of importance are by asking...hang on!" he looked closer at the map. "It...looks like there's some sort of northern outlet by the cemetery, only...the map doesn't mark where it leads to!" he responded.

"Well, you can have the map delivered back to you at any time, so I guess if we ask people about a northern outlet that they don't know about, then we'll keep it with us." Sarah said to him.

A man wearing a white shirt and a red hat and pants walked up to them. "Hello I'm from Escargo Express, you're Moon right?" he asked. Moon nodded. "Good good, I'm here to pick up your stuff, I'm sure you knew that already...but your delivery charge is 18 dollars. You can cover the bill right? Moon nodded again and withdrew the money from his pocket. "What can I take off your hands today...I can take up to three things." Moon handed him the backstage pass, then the map. "Is there anything else?" the man asked.

"Nope we're all good." Moon said. The man took the items and walked away away.

Sarah was glancing from side to side, it was odd, the town had such an eerie feel, it was dark, cold, really depressing...but no sign of...

Danger!

Sarah felt something hit the back of her head. "Ow!" she said rubbing the back of her head. Moon turned around, only to himself being hit by seeds as well. Kids around their age were wearing a pumpkin on their head, wore a bright yellow shirt, and was carrying two tiny round objects that looked like pumpkins. Moon had his suspicions considering they were being onto with what looked like quite the careful grip.

"They're giving off dark energy." Moon said. "I hope you don't mind taking these kids on." Sarah was a bit concerned about hurting them. All they were doing was spitting seeds at them after all.

"BOMBS AWAY!" One of the kids shouted throwing the pumpkin at both of them. The pumpkin landed on the ground in front of them and exploded!

KA-BOOM!

The bomb exploded throwing them across the street. "Damn it." Moon grunted, Sarah saw both kids preparing to throw yet another bomb at them.

"PSI Freeze α!" she shouted. The beam of ice hit one of the kids and encapsulated him in ice. The other kid screeched in rage, and threw his own bomb at them. Moon quickly pushed Sarah to the side, the explosion threw him into the side of the drugstore. Sarah looked at him, he was badly burned, and possibly had a concussion after being thrown into the side of a brick building. She concentrated and aimed at the last bomb in the kids hand. "PSI Fire α!" she shouted. The jet of fire shot out of her hand and hit the bomb.

KA-BOOM!

The bomb exploded throwing both kids into the side of a building. Sarah stood still for a moment to make sure they weren't going to get back up. Then she ran over to Moon, "Are you okay," she asked with worry.

Moon grunted, "Yeah...just gotta…" his hand flashed green, only when he placed it on his own head, the burn marks didn't fade.

"What...happened?" Sarah asked. "You can't be out of energy...your hand just flashed green." Moon got up, he struggled for a bit, but he was still able to stand.

"I guess Lifeup alpha can only heal so much...I may need a stronger version or something." he grunted as he got up. "I guess I'll have to power through for the time being." the second he said that, he immediately wished he hadn't."

"YOU CAN'T!" Sarah cried, "Moon you're hurt, don't push yourself too hard! Can you please try again? For me!" Moon sighed, he concentrated his thoughts on a stronger Lifeup, He felt it within him, but it was telling him that this wasn't alpha...it was something different it was telling him Lifeup . Sarah watched as his hand flashed a bit more green light than usual he moved it over himself and all his burn marks faded. Sarah gave him a sweet smile, "see you just needed some encouragement." Moon took her hand. "Let's ask about that northern passage, it'd be best if we checked it out." she continued.

They walked past a huge circus tent, where a man with blonde hair was standing. "Excuse me sir, we were wondering, is there a path or something north of here?" Moon asked

The man flinched for a second. "Well, I'm not sure, but rumor has it that there is an underground path at the end of the graveyard." he said wiping his brow. "A-also, if you were to go through the path you'd meet some dirty, stinky, ugly, powerful monster...that's all I know...please don't eat my brains!"

"Um...we aren't zombies." Sarah said.

"T-that's what you want me to think, I'm outta here, I gave you what you want!" the man shouted as he ran off.

The couple noticed that some people were walking in and out of the big circus tent. "I hope you're not afraid of clowns." Moon teased as he poked Sarah in the side.

"I'm not afraid of clowns Moon." Sarah said.

"You've clearly never seen the movie It then." Moon responded. Sarah couldn't help but feel good with him next to her, She thought it was nice that he was trying to make light of the situation.

The two stopped a man coming out of the tent. "So what's with the circus tent?" Moon asked. "You guys don't look like circus performers." The man gave them both a suspicious look.

"This tent is the headquarters of the Zombie Relief Corps." he said. "We try to come up with ways to crush this stupid zombie invasion, but everything we keep coming up with is just another way for us to get crushed."

"Did you try asking them to leave?" Sarah asked. Moon laughed, the man on the other hand looked at them with fury,

"Don't make a fool of us, if you two think you could deal with it then I'd like to see you take them on in graveyard!" he scoffed before walking away.

"Well, I mean, with no other leads, we might as well check it out!" Moon said. Sarah nodded and the two set off towards the north. Sarah was keeping herself at the ready, that dark energy that had surrounded Moon in Twoson was frightening to her and she wanted to make sure he was alright. However, this proved to be a challenge, Threed was uncomfortably cold.

Danger!

The two walked past a puppet lying on the ground. All of a sudden, the puppet came to life and slapped Moon over the head. "Hiyah kiddos!" the puppet said with a cold voice. "I'm Handsome Tom!." Sarah shifted uncomfortably, she wasn't a big fan of puppets...and this was very creepy.

"PSI Thunder α!" she shouted. A bolt of lighting shot past the tiny puppet without even touching it. "PSI Thunder α!" Once again the lighting shot passed the puppet. The puppet turned its head a hundred and eighty degrees to look at the lighting strike. Then it snapped itself back into place.

"Watch it girl!" it snapped. "I'm made of mahogany wood do you have any…" Moon whacked the puppet with his bat.

"Stupid freaking puppets." he muttered turning to Sarah. "Sarah...are you sure your okay...what happened with Thunder?" he asked. "You must've missed it by at least two feet." Sarah hid her face in embarrassment. She had forgotten about what the cultists talked about. Lighting wasn't easily controllable, it was a force that would take time to master properly.

"I'm...not able to use it properly...lighting, unlike freeze and fire, isn't that easy to control." she said with a hint of sadness. Moon took her hand.

"It's alright Sarah..I'm sure as time goes on you'll be able to control it."

Out of nowhere, another bomb landed next to them and exploded. They both landed next to another puppet, with a really uncomfortable smile. "Defense down α!" the puppet shouted. Sarah felt herself being surrounded by blue light. Then the puppet slapped her...well that was kind of an understatement, she felt like she had been punched in the stomach!

"PSI Fire α!" Sarah shouted. No fire came out of her fingers. "Damn it." She said to herself. Moon came to her rescue, and knocked the puppet out. Then he grabbed her hand and swiftly ran towards the cemetery entrance.

The two ran to the north where they were halted with the edge of the cemetery. "Moon...please stop...I'm...out of...energy." Sarah panted,

"I can tell." he responded whacking another puppet. Sarah rubbed her head, it was throbbing a little after that puppet slap. She heard herself saying something,

_"Magnet...PSI Magnet! Concentrate Sarah!"_

She concentrated her thoughts on PSI Magnet, all of a sudden, she felt herself draining some sort of...energy. She was surrounded by some sort of blue circular light as well. The puppet was within the light. "Am I draining it's PSI energy?" she asked herself. "Only one way to find out...PSI Fire α!" fire shot out of her fingers and the puppet was burnt to a crisp. "Sweet!" she told herself.

"Sarah lookout!" Moon jumped in front of her, he swung his bat hitting another pumpkin bomb back the way it came.

KA-BOOM!

The bomb exploded throwing another kid with a pumpkin on his head into the air and onto the street. "Nice save." Sarah said. She turned inwards towards the cemetery, "Let's keep looking."

Several flies swarmed them immediately as they entered the cemetery. "PSI Fire α!" Sarah shouted, the flames shot past the insects, they were moving to fast for her to make a target. Moon looked around for something of help, the insects were moving to fast for anything to possibly hit them. Then on the top of a garbage can in the cemetery, there was a spray can. He grabbed it, the label read "Insecticide Spray!" he shook the spray and pressed down on the nozzle, a small blast of moisture came out of the top surrounding the insects killing all of them instantly.

Suddenly, Sarah felt an icy hand on her shoulder. She tensed up, it had a firm grip and was cold as ice. "PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted, the bright beams of light hit the hand of whatever was on her off. They both heard a horrible screeching sound that sounded like

"HELP!"

Instantly several ghosts floated over to aid of this ghost. "PSI Freeze α!" Sarah shouted. The beam of ice hit the ghost in the center freezing it and falling to the ground.

"PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted. The last few ghosts were enveloped by bright multi colored lights and vanished.

Moon was breathing quite heavily, the amount of monsters was stressful. "You still good Sarah?" he asked. She nodded, There were no more zombies, ghosts, flies, or puppets around. "It Looks like they've calmed down though, let's keep going." he continued.

The two continued through the cemetery when they came to a stop. In front of them were two human-like figures with pale blue skin, and blood red eyes.

"Zombies." Moon whispered, "What should we do?"

Sarah glanced at them, both zombies seemed to just be staring at each other, they clearly weren't bothered by the fact that a ghost had screeched for help, or explosives going off. "Just approach with caution, maybe they won't do anything." she whispered back.

The two approached the zombies, bat and frying pan at the ready. The zombies turned and looked at both of them. All of them just looked at one another, the blood red eyes of both zombies was an uncomfortable sight for both of them. It felt like they were staring into both of their souls.

_"You know...maybe I should step in...afterall, you aren't doing much to help the current situation. Maybe I could convince them otherwise!"_

Moon ignored the voice, there was no need for Dark Moon to take over...Sarah's safety or well being wasn't at stake and he wasn't in a sticky situation that required any sort of action, plus he was still hoping that Sarah would forget about the Twoson incident.

_"Oh the silent treatment, real original...you can't do this forever! She wants to know, you know she does, how long are you going to hide me from her?"_

Moon shook his head. Turning to Sarah, she was also in a deadlocked state looking at the zombies "Let's go," he whispered. "They aren't going to budge, we might as well figure out a different way to make them move...if we attack they may call for more backup than we can handle." Sarah nodded in response. As they both walked away the zombies began groan a bit.

Suddenly Moon's head throbbed...he had a flash vision, a boy with black hair, glasses, and hazel brown eyes was sitting in a bed tinkering with broken spray can.

Moon shook his head, that had to be their next friend...but...where was he? He found himself in front of the hotel Sarah was saying his name.

"Moon...Moon?" she asked. He was snapped back to reality, "Are you sure your alright?" Sarah asked. "You've been...in a daze...is something wrong?" Moon shook his head just to make sure he was really there.

"Yeah...I'm good Sarah." he said. He looked around, there was no way to tell what time it was in Threed, the sky was dark all the time...that's when he noticed something peculiar. Outside the front of the Threed Hotel was a woman with blonde hair sunglasses...and...um...a rather questionable outfit for Threed's climate. Her skin was also significantly pale.

"Sarah...how far away are we from a beach?" he asked

Sarah noticed the woman standing by the hotel. "Who the hell where's an outfit like THAT here, I'm freezing!" she said irritably. The woman took notice of them staring at her and immediately moved over to both of them. They both felt a little bit of dark energy emitting from the woman, they immediately braced themselves for an attack.

"No need to be alarmed." the woman said with a scratchy voice, "I heard you two are looking for someone special...I think I might be able to help you...if you could just step into my hotel room, I'll tell you."

"Why do we need to follow you?" Moon asked.

"To dangerous," the woman responded. "Zombies are everywhere, some are even posing as humans!" Moon glanced uncomfortably at Sarah. "I'll be in room two on the first floor if you want that information." the woman said before walking into the hotel.

"What do you think?" Moon asked turning to Sarah.

"We have no other leads...but we are going to need help with we are ever getting through this." she replied. "But...that woman...just...why?"

The two entered the hotel, there was no one behind the desk...but that didn't matter, they were visiting, not staying. "First floor second door." Moon said as they approached the door. He reached for the doorknob only for his reflexes to start screaming again.

DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!

Moon opened the door hesitantly, two zombies, two more ghosts, and a zombie dog immediately jumped out of the room and tackled them,

"PSI Fi" Sarah began, she was cut off suddenly, as another cold hand was placed on her, her whole body froze up. She could see the woman looking at both of them, there was no remorse, or regret, just a dead evil stare into her eyes.

The zombie dog ran up to her...but she never saw it get there, just a flash of pink was the last thing she saw before passing out.

**(Below Threed's Cemetery)**

Sarah awoke with a dizzying pain, everything was spinning, her head was in massive pain, and she was freezing. She felt a hand on her head and all of the pain vanished, she became aware of her surroundings. She was now in a dark cave...there was light coming from...somewhere. She got up and brushed herself off,

Moon was sitting curled in a ball. "I'm sorry...for everything." he mumbled. Sarah could tell he was trying his hardest to not cry. "I should've known what was coming...now...just look at this mess...we're trapped and alone...I...oh who am I kidding, Pokey was right, I was only just going to get you and the others killed...I'm a failure."

Sarah grasped his hand she hated to see him like this, "Come on Moon...don't think that way." she said. "You're a good leader, this is nothing more than a set back We'll be fine!"

Moon looked up at her, "How?" he snapped. "The door's locked, we don't know where we are, and to make things worse, there's a zombie army that knows our location!" Sarah opened her mouth but quickly shut it. He was indeed right, there was no possible way out. Their PSI powers couldn't possibly break them out they were much to weak. Then she sensed a bit of dark energy emitting off Moon again.

"Moon...can I ask you something?" she asked. He nodded in response, "You're emitting a tiny bit of dark energy just like in Twoson...why?"

Moon flinched, he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one...he took a deep breath and then said. "I can't really explain it." Sarah gave him an obvious look of doubt. "I can however, show you...you've shown me that you could probably handle it."

Sarah waited for him to do something, he just looked into her eyes. After what seemed like ten minutes of silence, Sarah finally decided to speak. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Moon stared into her eyes. "Promise me this." he said after a moment. "You're about to meet someone...special If you get uncomfortable, scared, or I bring harm to you or myself...promise me you'll tell me to stop, that's the only way I can come back.

Sarah was now a bit worried. "Moon what are you going to do?" she asked nervously.

Moon shook his head. "I'm not going to do anything other than become someone else." he responded. "I'm going to relinquish control for you to meet the person who is giving off the dark energy." Sarah gulped which he caught sight of. "Do you not think you're ready?" he asked. "I completely understand if your not, this becomes a secondary effect in our relationship, it's a responsibility that you and I both must deal with."

Sarah hesitated, "No, I believe I'm ready," she said slowly. He smiled then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"Very well, Sarah..goodbye, I'll see you soon." he said. Sarah stared at him, after a moment his eyes flashed red. Then his eyes became the same cold and heartless stare she had seen back in Twoson. This was what he told her about before.

"Hello Sarah." Moon said with a rather cold tone.

"Moon...if you're trying to play a joke on me...it's not working." she responded.

Moon laughed coldly, "I assure you this is far from a joke, I'm Moon's...uh darker side...or something like that."

"So who are you then?" Sarah asked.

"Moon prefers to call me Dark...by some logic I happen to also be him...so...Dark Moon will work just fine." he responded. "Anyways, you're quite adorable." he said eyeing her up and down. "Although I don't think that purple is really your color, perhaps a little black and red would work." Sarah frowned, this Dark Moon, wasn't really doing anything of interest other than just giving her a cold and emotionless stare.

"So...what'd you think about what I did to Dan?" he asked. "Moon seemed pretty bent out of shape when he noticed that the loser had slapped you..naturally it was my duty to take over, he forced me out though after just whacking him...thanks to you." he added with a grunt. "Same thing when I had him in my grasp, you stopped me yet again...I hate that you have authority."

Sarah blinked, "Authority...take over...forced out?" she asked with confusion. To her surprise Dark Moon smiled...though it was quite an evil one.

"Yes Sarah." he said harshly. "As Moon's girlfriend you have a certain...role. You can ask me questions I am bound by a rule to answer you with full honesty, with a few exceptions. Or as Moon has probably already made you aware, you can force him back in control."

I can ask him a question that he has to answer. Sarah thought, what do I ask him though? A whole world of opportunities opened up before her, she could ask him to help get them out, she could ask why Moon was so nervous around her, that's whens she paused. "Moon said he can be dangerous." she said to herself. "He doesn't seem that bad really though...wait...that's what I ask him. Based on his response, I can question further."

"Dark Moon...Moon told me you are dangerous...so why are you acting nice?" she asked.

Dark Moon laughed again. "Wise question, I can see why Moon loves you, you're no idiot by any means" Sarah frowned. "Anyways, I'm dangerous because that's my nature. I'd make an example with that teddy bear of yours if it hadn't been destroyed by the zombies."

Sarah drew in a breath. "What?" she asked quietly. Dark Moon crackled.

"Yeah, that teddy bear of yours was ripped to shreds by the zombies, your telekinetic powers drew the bear in front of you, the Zombies must've hated the color pink because they attacked the bear instead of you!" he said withdrawing the bear from Moon's backpack. One arm, leg, ear, and eye of the bear were all missing, on top of that there was a bunch of fluff sticking out of many tears on the bear. "Gotta admit, I could've stepped in to save you...I have quite the knack in getting out of trouble, physical trouble that is."

Sarah had to turn her head away from his cold and heartless stare, it was getting really uncomfortable, plus the addition of her teddy bear in his hand was unsettling. "No I have to keep listening to him...he probably knew something that could help us get out of here." she told herself.

"I can tell that you and him are very much alike," Dark Moon said after a moment, "You're starting to feel uncomfortable with me around, but much like Moon, you know that you have no other option." he said inching closer to her, Sarah made an attempt to back away, but he grabbed her wrist and held it tightly

"Darkness is a beautiful thing Sarah...and soon...very soon...You...Moon...and your other friends...will be surrounded by darkness, evil, horror." he leaned in closer so both their faces were mere inches apart. "All it takes is the tiniest little..."

"MOON STOP!" Sarah cried.

Dark Moon blinked, then he shook his head. His eyes slowly became more soft and passionate, then his grip weakened, almost instantly she felt all the dark energy disappear. He quickly backed away from her and held his head. "Moon...is it you?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah," Moon responded holding his head. "Yeah...usually, did he...you two didn't? Did you?" he asked. Sarah quickly shook her head.

"No, he tried, but I stopped him before he could." she responded. Moon relaxed a little, "So, Dark Moon..what's it like sharing your body with him?" Sarah asked as he rubbed his own head.

"It's...painful." he responded. "He talks a lot, and usually after he's been in control I...ergh!" he he said punching his head. Sarah sat down and made a motion for him to follow. He sat down next to her still rubbing his head. "So...what's he like?" Moon asked after sitting in silence for a few minutes.

Sarah was caught off guard, "You don't know what he's like?"

Moon shook his head. "I only know about Dark because of our talks, when he takes control I lose my own surroundings...based on what he says and the fact that I'm always in great pain whenever I take control back, I could only assume that he wasn't friendly."

"No one has ever bothered to tell you what he's like...your family, friends, no one?" she asked.

Moon hesitated on his response then went red. "Um...yeah...they don't know...no one other than you does. I've been keeping him a secret for nearly ten years." Sarah started to feel a little bit uneasy. "I started hearing his voice one day when I was outside, at first I thought it was my dog. Then, when I was about seven, I started having blackouts at school and ending up at home. After about another week, he appeared to me in dream."

"What happened?" Sarah asked, she had him talking about the burden she needed to carry. She needed to know as much as possible.

Moon bit his bottom lip. "He...said he wanted to make a deal, told me that he was some sort of special dream, a dream that is both real and not real. He told me that I had the power to allow him to step out of his "world" and take my place if I ever needed." Sarah nodded to show she was listening. "Then...he said that some "outside force" placed him here and that he was supposed to take over and help with some things if I wished."

"Okay Moon, I understand the backstory, but...why did you say I have to help you carry this burden?" Sarah asked.

Moon sighed, "He presented me with a proposition, I could be in control, but if I was ever too angry. He could step in and handle the problem for me. I agreed, and he started slowly taking control."

"What do you mean by...control?" Sarah asked. Moon bit his lip yet again.

"I started losing track of time...he took control and held me in for days on end. One time I gave him control and woke up a whole week later...Naturally I knew this had to stop, I stopped giving him control, just like that, I pulled the plug on his raid. Unfortunately, it was too late, he had already gotten me with his back up plan, my temper. He can still waltz in whenever I am in a bad mood...like with that kid...Dan right?"

Sarah stared at him, this was honestly a bit frightening, everything that he had told her was interesting at best...but where was she was supposed to fit in?

"So...you said I had a burden to carry." Sarah said. "What is that burden?"

"You...have to basically be my...um...keeper?" Moon said with doubt. "All I know is this, Dark Moon specifically stops if he is asked with force or concern from someone else for my safety. You've already done this three times Sarah. Once at the theater, earlier this morning, and just now. You have established your authority, you have proven to me that you care about me enough to take that role."

Sarah turned away, she was trying not to show her fear. "Moon...I'm not sure I can...now that I've heard about this." she said. "It's not that I'm afraid of him...but...you say I have to get you back...what if I can't?" to her great surprise she felt Moon's arms wrap around her. Her heart started to beat faster, this was him doing something without her asking him to.

"If you can't get me back, I have to fight him to get my control back." he said softly, "I know it seems like alot to ask of you Sarah...but you can definitely do this...I know you can." she started to relax as he continued to hold her. "I never told anyone for this reason...because I knew that I'd be asking for something...next to impossible. If you don't want to...I completely understand."

Sarah finally found the courage to hug him back. "Thank you for trusting me with this." she responded with a mixed tone of happiness and sadness. "I'll try my best to help you keep your dark side under control...you and I will make a perfect team, and once we get out of here and meet our other friends there's nothing Giygas can throw at us!"

Moon smiled, his head was still throbbing...this was a little concerning, it had never hurt for this long before. "Thanks Sarah...um...sorry about your teddy bear by the way." he added.

Sarah smiled brightly, just the sight of it made him happier. "It's alright." she responded. "I can try to fall asleep without it."

The two layed on the rough floor of the cave. "Moon...I'm...um cold." Sarah said. Her teeth were chattering and the ground felt pretty icy. Moon turned over and placed an arm around her and drew her closer to him.

"Does this help?" he asked with concern.

Sarah smiled before turning to him. "Yes, it works perfectly fine...thanks." she responded with glee. Moon smiled back to her. "Goodnight Moon."

"Goodnight Sarah!" he responded back.

**(Mindscape)**

Moon arrived back in the empty void. "Fantastic...I suppose that you want to talk again Dark?" he asked into the void. He waited for a few minutes, but shadow didn't appear. Instead, light shone in front of him and Sarah entered the void as well.

"Hello," Moon said. "I thought you had enough of me for one day?"

Sarah giggled, "No...I assure you that you'll never be too much for me to handle." she said taking his hand "Although...I do wonder why both of us are here."

Light shone once again and the images of Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo all entered the void alongside them.

"Oh...um...hello again." Ness said. "I see you rescued Sarah, great job on your part Moon."

"So...I suppose you two are in need of help...which is why we are here again." Poo said. "What can we help the two of you with?"

"Um we're trapped," Sarah said. "Zombies captured us and put us in this cave..the door is locked and our PSI powers aren't enough to get us out"

"Ah...yeah..Threed," Paula said slowly, "Well...in terms of what you can do to get out of that cave...you're going to need to ask for help."

"We are literally doing that right now." Moon responded. "So...what do we do?"

"Not from us...from your third friend." Ness said. Moon looked at Jeff, the resemblance to him and the boy he had seen earlier was strong, the main difference was the hair color, unlike the boy, Jeff had blonde hair like him. However, he took notice to the fact that Jeff was looking at him and Sarah with a evident look of concern.

"Just one problem." Sarah said. "We don't know his name...I can't contact him telepathically without his name!"

"How in the world do you not know his name?" Paula asked. "That voice should've told you!"

"Moon? Do you know?" Sarah asked. Moon's head suddenly clicked in as he remembered what the voice communicating with the Mondo Mole had told him.

_"If you don't deal with them here, that means Giygas must warn The Trillionage Sprout! By then they'll have met Erick!"_

"Sarah...our third friend, the one from Winters...his name is Erick!" he said. "We can contact him, tell him where we are!" Sarah lit up,

"Hurray! Erick will rescue us! Then we'll combine together as a Triforce and SLAUGHTER THAT ALIEN!" Sarah shouted. She and Moon both hugged each other and then kissed, before vanishing.

"Did they just?" Jeff asked.

"Yes...yes they did." Poo responded.

"That's not supposed to happen, this is bad, really bad, LIKE SUPER BAD!" Jeff shouted.

"What why?" Ness asked. "All they did was kiss, they're in love Jeff and they should be.

"No, no they shouldn't." Jeff responded. "PSI gets stronger based on your emotions, you and Paula weren't in love on your adventure!"

"So what's the problem?" Paula asked. "I told her to not be afraid to go for it."

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TELL HER NOT TO DO IT PAULA!" Jeff shouted.

"What why?" Paula asked.

"Yeah Jeff, if two people love each other, they should be together, not hiding it." Ness said.

"I agree with them as well Jeff, despite my Mu training, I know that Love is a force not to be meddled with..what could possibly go wrong with the two of them being in love?"

Jeff facepalmed. "Ness do you remember what happened when Paula got kidnapped?" he asked.

"Yeah, I had to go rescue her from a psychotic cu-"

"THE OTHER TIME, PAULA GOT KIDNAPPED?" Jeff shouted.

Ness and Paula both thought about it then went severely pale. "OH DAMN IT WHAT'VE WE DONE?" they shouted.

**That's all for this chapter next up Erick's adventure in Winters a bit of a memorable moment for me, I have plans for this chapter in the making and I hope that I can get it up soon.**

**Personal thanks to PhoenixClaw for pointing out my paragraphs while people speak I hope I fixed that this chapter.**

**Anyways thanks for reading if you have any advice be sure to let me know.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Winters Wonderland, Part 1: A Call For Help.

**(Winters, Snow Wood Boarding House)**

A young boy with black hair and hazel brown eyes was in an enjoying a peaceful good night's sleep. He often times found himself sleeping in his own little world...tonight however, something strange happened. As he slept he heard a girls voice begin to talk to him.

_"I'm calling out to you who I've never met...I'm calling our friend we've never met...Erick! Erick! We need your help! I am Sarah and I am with another friend, Moon...we are trying to contact you...if you hear us...say something!"_

The boy suddenly found himself talking to the voice. "Um, hello...Sarah." he said.

Another voice began talking to him, this time it was a boys

_"Please wake up and...head south!...Only you, though far away, can save us, Erick...please hear my call and begin heading south...Erick you are a friend who we've never met...but you are our one and only hope!"_

"This has got to be the weirdest dream I've ever had." Erick replied. "And right before my big science test tomorrow...how does my brain expect me to…"

_"We just told you that we are in danger, that you are the only person who can save us...and you're more concerned about a damn science test!" _

"Well, I mean, this is just a dream, I'm quite familiar with the whole it was all just a dream cliche."

_"Well, forget your science test Erick. You're meant for something bigger, we can't explain it to you at the moment, but you need to wake up and head south...we are doomed if you don't."_

"You do realize this is a dream right?"

_"Good grief, Sarah are you sure this is the right Erick?"_

_"I'm pretty confident, you did say hazel brown eyes with black hair right?" _

"Wait hold on are you two stalking me how'd you know my eye and hair color?"

_"Yep it's him, nice trickery right there." _

"I'm so confused, explain this whole thing to me."

_"We don't have time to explain it to you at the moment, can you please just wake up and start heading south? Sarah and I are in trouble...you are the only person who can help us."_

"So how do I know this is not a dream?"

_"Moon and I contacting you telepathically, in fact, you're communicating telepathically with us! We can help you if you'd like! Trust us Erick, this is far from a dream." _

"So um...if this isn't a dream...and you two are actually communicating telepathically with me, could you tell me where you are so I can help you?"

_"Sarah and I are trapped somewhere underground...we think maybe in Threed's cemetery but we aren't incredibly confident with our assumption."_

Erick could only groan to himself, this was probably going to be harder than he first expected.

_"Anyways, we'll try to contact you again if you'd like help...in the meantime why don't you wake up, gather some items, and head south to Threed...because um...we could really use your help!"_

Erick felt himself spring up out of bed, he shook his head to himself.

"Well...I have no choice, those two could be in deep trouble...if I'm the only one who knows, then so be it."

He got up out of bed put on his glasses and quietly packed a few things into his backpack, a broken spray can that he had been tinkering with to try and fix, and a ruler and protractor. "Is there anything else?" he asked himself. His eyes fell on a big bottle rocket laying under his bed. He smiled to himself as he reached for it and put it in his backpack. He was a good student at the boarding school, but he had a love of explosives. He'd often times used these outside with his friend Tony.

He paused. "What am I supposed to tell him though?" he asked Tony was his best friend who didn't have any other friends, in of himself. "Yeah...didn't think about that...guess I'll have to sneak out no way he'll let me go."

Silently, he made his way towards the door. He heard Tony stir, then "Erick, where are you going in the middle of the night?" he asked.

Erick turned around, he was met with the face of a boy with flaming red hair, a fedora, and black eyes. "You know the dorm rules right?" Tony asked. "If you get caught, you'll get punished big time." Erick groaned, any student caught outside of their room after eleven was punished severely. He glanced up at the clock, it was only ten thirty...there's still time, he thought, just gotta get past Tony.

"W-what's wrong Erick?" Tony asked. "I know you and I break the rule of explosives, but, this isn't like you."

"I've gotten tired of being at school, I want to go and visit my father...you know, Dr. Andonuts, his lab is here in Winters, I just want to go there in back just to meet him...for once." Erick lied.

Tony looked at him skeptically, "All right, there must be some reason I clearly don't understand, after all you and your father haven't seen each other in years...you typically act like you don't have one." he said. "Don't worry I won't stop you, but it's dangerous to leave without taking anything along...specifically a weapon, I'll help you get out of here."

"Didn't you say that there was stuff in the locker room that the students use to hide stuff?" Erick asked.

"Yeah that's right, maybe Maxwell can help us." Tony responded. "Come on let's get going."

Outside of their dorm there was a group of kids huddled around, they were all talking about Tessie and Stonehenge. "I don't know why people talk about those two myths so much, all that talk about Cave Boys, a Giant Purple Serpent, Aliens, all of it is stuff for science fiction and video games." Erick muttered as they walked downstairs.

"Come on Erick, you're the son of Dr. Andonuts, you know that with the universe as big as it is, there's probably extraterrestrial life out there somewhere right?" Tony responded. Erick shook his head, it was nice to have someone contradict him every now and then, it kept him from getting a big head about his IQ.

The two arrived downstairs and entered into the science lab. In there was a kid in his late teens wearing a gray robe tinkering with some sort of machine. Tony tapped him on the shoulder and he promptly jumped up in surprise. "Oh...Erick...Tony...you two startled me." the kid said. "What's up...you two looking for a midnight snack?"

"Hey Maxwell, how's that science project coming along?" Erick asked.

"Eh, I've been having some trouble with my project. If only your father Dr. Andonuts was here Erick. He'd be able to provide a great deal of help. I've heard many good things, he's supposed to be an astounding person...after all the man was the first leader of our Ultra Science Club, supposedly he's even smarter than Albert Einstein or Werner Heisenberg."

"Heh...yeah." Erick said looking down. Despite being Dr. Andonut's son, Erick wasn't super into his relationship with him, he couldn't remember the last time he had even seen his father. "Um, Maxwell, I was going to go and meet my father, and Tony said I should take stuff from the locker room."

"If your going to the locker room take this key along." Maxwell said handing Erick a slightly bent bronze key. "When you leave, call me sometime, I can record your adventure, like saving a game." Maxwell said chuckling to himself.

Erick looked at the key in his hand, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that this key wasn't going to fit in any sort of locker keyhole.

"Maxwell the key is too bent." Erick said handing it back to him. "I can tell."

"Yeah, I figured you would." Maxwell replied, "Which is why I wanted to give you this, I just invented it, it's called the Machine that Opens Doors especially when you have a slightly bad key! or if you want, the Bad key Machine. Sorry for the inconvenience." he said handing Erick a machine that looked like some sort of mini jukebox.

"All you gotta do is press one of these buttons, and the machine will make a key that fits into that specific lock...it's pretty convenient if you gotta bust someone out of a cage." Maxwell continued.

"Wait that's illegal! You can't just create keys to barge into people's houses can you?" Tony said.

"Well the school gave me clearance to create it so...you might as well use it to get into the lockers." Maxwell replied. "By the way Erick, I seem to recall that Dr. Andonuts is also apparently really strange...just what the rumors say though...anyways, if you truly are his son, you should be able to repair small tools and make them useful."

"Uh huh, yeah sure." Erick said glumly. He still hadn't fixed the broken spray can he had found five days ago, so he wasn't too confident in his abilities at the moment.

"Hey don't be like that!" Maxwell said. "Just try to keep a positive attitude! And please don't forget to call me sometime okay?"

"Yeah sure thing Maxwell," Erick said. "Come on Tony, I need to get going before curfew ends."

The two left Maxwell in the classroom and headed towards the locker room. Along the way they passed a girl with long light brown hair. Erick turned his head to look at her, the girl had always caught his interest, her name was Giovanna, she was a transfer student from Summers and that was about all Erick knew about her, she was particularly smart and often times found herself near him for whatever reason. Erick liked her but he often times kept to himself, just because dorm rules forbade any sort of "coupling" interactions between students.

"Erick? You good buddy?" Tony asked snapping him back to reality, "Did Gio put you in your little world again?"

Erick groaned, "Yeah...I'm fine, just...thinking something...let me ask you something Tony, if you dreamed that two people were calling out to you asking for help because they are trapped, and that you were their only hope...would go and look for them?"

Tony gave Erick a skeptical look, "I mean that's a...difficult question, for one thing, it was probably just a dream, but on the other hand, it could be real and two people could be in life threatening danger, if you're asking me, I'd go and look for them if I had the same dream again, just to be absolutely sure."

"That surely would've been a more logical option." Erick said to himself. "But I've made up my mind, I have to go look for those two."

Erick withdrew the pop gun from the locker as Tony walked back over with a broken laser. "Hey Erick." he said. "I found this broken laser in the other locker, maybe you could fix it, it certainly would be stronger than the pop gun." he opened Erick's backpack and withdrew the rule and protractor, "Come on Erick, you know that these will just take up space, they aren't going to be useful for anything." Tony continued.

"Yeah you're probably right." Erick said zipping his backpack back up. "I guess I'll leave them here, it doesn't make sense to keep them with me."

"Um...Erick?" A female voice asked. The two turned around and were greeted with Giovanna looking at both of them with a hint of suspicion.

"Is something wrong Gio?" Tony asked.

"Um...yeah actually...Maxwell told me you were leaving." she said looking at Erick. "Tony would you mind if I talked to Erick privately for a minute?"

Tony very reluctantly nodded and left the locker room. Once the door shut Giovanna turned to Erick. "Are you really going to try and find two kids because a dream told you to?" she asked.

"How'd you know?" Erick asked with shock.

"I heard your conversation with Tony." she responded. "I'm not as ignorant as you may think Erick. "I just can't believe you're actually going to do this?"

Erick took a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm going to try and find them...I know it sounds stupid, but I have to do it, they could be in trouble."

"Do you know anything about them, where they are, how bad of a situation they are in, their names...anything?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well...the voices I heard were a girls and a boys." Erick said. "They said their names were Sarah and Moon...and that I needed to head south...that's about all I can tell you!"

Giovanna looked him the eye, "Well..if you truly believe that you need to do this...I won't stop you," she said hugging him. "Just...stay safe, for my sake...and more importantly Tony's sanity."

Erick hugged her back, "Don't worry, I'll stay safe...just...make sure Tony doesn't do anything stupid while I'm gone." the girl nodded and left the locker room.

"So what'd she want to talk to you about?" Tony asked after Erick exited the locker room.

"She just...asked me to stay safe...I think she might have a thing for me." Erick said watching her go back upstairs.

Tony shrugged, "I wouldn't blame her, you're smart...caring...handsome."

"What was that?" Erick asked.

"Nothing...nothing." Tony said quickly.

The two walked outside where they were met with a brick wall with a black picket gate in the center. Tony walked over to the picket gate, got down on all fours in the snow, and motioned for Erick to step up. "Okay, now use me as a step and climb over the gate." he said.

Erick nodded and climbed over the gate. He jumped down in front and landed perfectly before turning back to Tony. "Goodbye Tony, I'll see you again really soon." he said.

The boy smiled. "Well...I'll say goodbye for now," he said getting up off the ground. "I don't know where you're going, or why for that matter, but remember, we are best friends forever Erick." Erick nodded in response as Tony walked back into the boarding school.

"Welp, now that this whole conundrum has been solved...now what?" Erick asked himself. "I guess I could try to find my father's lab and see if he can help me...Maxwell said he lives south of here near Stonehenge...so...I guess I'll head there."

He walked by a drugstore that was located by the school. Despite only having two dollars with him, he decided it wouldn't hurt to look around...after all you never knew when someone might just throw away another object that he could try to fix.

He entered into the drugstore and immediately his eyes fell on a pink monkey by the entrance to the door. It had a mechanical collar around its neck that read _"Created by Andonuts Labs."_ the monkey looked Erick in the eye and smiled, before blowing a piece of chewing gum that was in its mouth.

"Incredible," Erick said to himself. "A monkey capable of blowing bubbles from a wad of bubble gum."

A woman by the counter noticed him looking at the monkey with interest and walked over to him.

"Hey, would you like to take the monkey little boy?" she asked. "He's really noisy, don't worry, all you gotta do is buy a pack of bubble gum and you can take him for free."

Erick looked at the woman skeptically "And how much is your pack of bubble gum?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, he'll only cost ya a buck!" she said. "So, do you want him?"

Erick thought about it for a minute. "Yeah...I guess I'll take him." he said handing her a dollar.

"Great, the monkey is yours now, take good care of it," the woman said handing him a pack of bubble gum.

Erick moved over to the monkey who was still sitting by the entrance door. "Hey, um, little monkey," Erick said. "I've got some chewing gum and the nice lady over there said I could take you with me...you want to come?" The monkey looked at him with blank face before opening its mouth.

"Yeah, I'll come with you...as long as your giving me some gum every now and again." the monkey responded.

Erick was taken aback at first until he remembered that very recently, it was rumored that his father had worked on an animal translator this must've been one of those. "Okay then...do you have a name...something I can call you by?" he asked.

"Well...I've been given the name Bubble Monkey by the lady...so honestly, Bubble will work just fine." the monkey responded as it hopped onto his shoulder. "Now let's get going kid, we've got a big adventure ahead of us!"

Erick walked back outside into the snowy Winters weather, he wasn't at all bothered by the climate around here, it was always cold in Winters (hence the name), and since he had lived here his whole life, he was pretty much used to the cold conditions around here. He kept the laser at hand, despite Winters being relatively calm and serene, he couldn't help but feel just a little paranoid walking around at night, he had seen that some of the crows and goats that inhabited Winters were acting particularly unusual lately.

Suddenly a crow dived down at him. With a quick pace, Erick quickly pointed the laser at the diving crow and pulled the trigger. A small beam shot out of the tip hitting the crow in the head. The bird fell to ground and moved no more.

"Sharp shooting there kid." Bubble said. "You definitely have some talent."

"Thanks Bubble, just...try to stay out of trouble if I have to keep fighting, I'd rather not watch you get hurt by any of the animals around here." Erick responded.

Erick couldn't help but wonder what the deal was, the two voices he had heard inside his head said that their names were Moon and Sarah. Both of them sounded like nice kids...but..he still felt a little uncomfortable with the whole situation. "The two did say that they'd contact me again, so if anythings, at least I'll know for sure whether or not they can tell the truth." he said to himself. He hopped down another ledge just to save a bit of time and found himself face to face with a giant brown goat.

Erick didn't even hesitate, these goats were very dangerous, they'd attack without warning and he had seem some try to break through the picket fence at the boarding school. Immediately he pulled the trigger shooting the goat square in the face. The goat roared in anger and immediately charged straight at him. He fired the laser yet again this time aiming at the feet. The beam forced the goat to trip head first into the snow and he took the opportunity to quickly duck between some of the trees.

"You still good Bubble?" Erick asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, just warn me next time you're gonna try and bolt out like that."

Erick arrived at the shoreline of Winters. Where as he expected, a group of people with binoculars and safari hats were camping out, this was the Tessie-Watching Club. A bunch of people who thought Tessie was real would constantly show up along the shoreline hoping to catch a glimpse of the mythical beast. If this did anything for him it was tell him that there was at least a boat that could take him down towards where his father's laboratory was. All he had to do was wait until morning

He tapped one of the men on the shoulder, the man eagerly turned around.

"Oh hello there kid," he said. "So you've also been bitten by Tessie-mania too. Well, you're in luck, it's supposed to be pretty windy tomorrow, maybe you'll get to Tessie...I can hardly wait!"

"Yeah...sure." Erick said. "Listen buddy, I need a place to crash for the night, anyone got an open tent?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, the cook of our club got some space in his tent, it's the one right behind me!" the man responded pointing towards a large dark green tent.

Erick opened the flap to the tent where he saw another man with a pot over a electrical heater. The man looked up when Erick entered. "Oh hey kid," the man said. "I'm the cook for this Tessie-Watching club, I know that the middle of the night may seem like a weird time to cook, but if you're having trouble falling asleep I can help you with that, why don't you have some stew?" he asked holding out a bowl. "No need to pay me or anything."

"Um okay sure I guess." Erick said taking the bowl. He ate the stew in silence sharing a little bit with Bubble Monkey. After the monkey had fallen asleep he took out the broken spray can again. That's when he noticed the problem. "Here we go," he said to himself. "The nozzle is just out of place...if I can just...there we go!" he pushed the nozzle down and a bit of blue powder shot out of it. "And it's still full...I wonder why someone would just throw this away. Defense Spray is actually worth quite a bit, I could sell this for good price."

Carefully, he put the Defense Spray back into his backpack so it wouldn't accidentally spray all over the place again. He felt good inside, after five frustrating days of trying to fix that stupid spray can he had finally found the problem. Now, he could focus on the laser Tony had found. But he felt like he had worked enough for the night, he laid on floor of the tent, and closed his eyes hoping to hear from the two voices again.

**(Mindscape)**

Erick arrived inside of an empty void, "Well, not the strangest dream I've had per say, but then again, considering the dream I was having earlier this night...it's not that bad."

Light shone in front of him, and a boy similar to him entered the void as well. The only difference between him and the new boy was the fact that his hair was blonde instead of black. Erick opened his mouth to say something but the boy cut him off.

"I know what you're going to say." the boy said to him, "Just listen to me okay?" Erick nodded in response. "My name is Jeff Andonuts...I'm going to make the educated guess that you are Erick Andonuts right?" Erick nodded again.

"Good good, okay now, to answer your question...I'm you...from a different world. I'm supposed to give you advice on your adventure."

"Makes sense to me, so what advice do you have to give to me?" Erick asked.

"Well I'm going off my own accord, but I assume you've heard a voices in your head asking you for help correct?"

"Yes, you'd be right."

"Do you have a pink monkey capable of blowing bubbles?"

"Yes...I do, why is he important?"

Jeff frowned, "Okay...I expected this to be difficult but you seem to pretty much have a basic concept of what you need to do and you don't seem to be very confused about anything...so I guess before I go...do you have any questions that I can answer?"

"Well...um...you could help me figure out how I'm supposed to get to Threed." Erick replied.

"Just...um...try to find your father...he can help you with that...Anyways, I should probably get going, I'm sure your friends are in trouble and you gotta save them...good luck Erick, I hope to see you again soon." With that Jeff vanished out of view.

Erick wasn't really ready to wake up at the moment, despite being needed somewhere it still felt way too early to wake up. That's when he heard the voices of Moon and Sarah yet again.

_"Hey so...have you left yet?" _

_"Don't ask him that Moon, of course he has, he wouldn't leave us in the dust like that!" _

_"Well we don't know for sure."_

"You two do know I can hear you right?" Erick asked.

_"Yeah."_

"Okay so I did what you asked me to do...can you please tell me what the heck is going on?" Erick asked.

_"Well, we're trapped...obviously...and you need to save us...I'm not sure how you haven't pieced this whole thing together...didn't we tell you before?"_

Erick facepalmed. "Not that," he said irritably. "Sarah, you said I was meant for something bigger. What is this...bigger thing?" a moment of silence followed this question then.

_"Well, how much time do you reckon we can spare Sarah?"_

_"Not long if we want to keep our energy steady."_

Erick was really puzzled by all this...maybe when he met them it would all make sense for now though they were just talking and talking.

_"Okay I'm going to try my best to sum this up quickly for you..basically, there's this universal cosmic destroyer known as Giygas. 10 years from now he will plunge our world into eternal darkness. However, an insect named Buzz Buzz found a prophecy that predicts Giygas being defeated by four children, you, me, Sarah, and another kid, together we are supposed to travel the world uniting eight special places called sanctuaries together, once we do that we'll be able to defeat Giygas once and for all. Does this make sense?"_

"Let me get this straight, you two believe that me, another kid, and yourselves are destined to save the planet from a dumb alien who just so happens to be a universal destroyer by going around the world to unite some random locations all because a random insect said you could?" Erick asked. "This whole thing sounds like the plot of video game!"

_"Well...yeah...we're both special...just like you...I'm sure the four of us will make the perfect team...please, we know this is a lot to ask of you Erick, but Moon and I really need your help, the world is counting on us...whether they realize it or not. Giygas is the reason that animals are acting so violent recently...so please just wake up, and head to Threed!"_

The second she finished her sentence Erick felt himself being tossed up and back into the air.

**(Reality, Early Morning)**

Erick woke up in the tent and looked from side to side quickly. "Strange." he said. "Well, I know it's way out of whack...but I need to go help them." Quickly he shook Bubble Monkey awake and exited the tent into some pretty heavy windy weather Immediately Erick made his way over to a little outing peninsula

"Brr." Bubble said. "It's never this cold around here."

Erick arrived at the edge of the peninsula there were bubbles coming out of the water, "Probably just another fish." he said to himself.

Out of nowhere music began to play and a man with a top hat, glasses, monocle, and camera dropped out of the sky. "Whoa hold up dude, where the heck did you come from."

"Sorry Erick, but I'm not allowed to say." the man said. "Either way I'm here to take your picture...so..Pictures taken instantaneously, I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself. Alright get ready for an instant memory...Look at the camera...ready?...Say...FUZZY PICKLES!"

Erick gave a thumbs up to the camera and smiled brightly as it flashed. "Wow what a great photograph it'll always bring back the fondest of memories!" the photoman said before vanishing.

"What a nice guy, sure him falling out of the sky and vanishing defies all scientific explanation, but I haven't had much sleep so I'm probably just seeing things." Erick said to himself.

"Hey Erick you said you needed to cross this water to get to your fathers lab right?" Bubble asked.

Erick looked at the monkey. "Why do you ask?"

"Give me some gum, now. I'll take care of everything."

Hesitantly, Erick withdrew the pack of gum from his backpack and gave the monkey a piece of gum. The monkey chewed the gum and blew a bubble instantly the monkey began to rise up off the ground and moved over the water specifically where the bubbles were coming out of.

"Um Bubble...please come back down!" Erick said.

Suddenly the ground began to shake and a giant purple sea serpent with probably the friendliest face Erick had ever seen rose out of the water. Erick felt his jaw hit the ground, this was Tessie, the friendly beast who lived in the waters around Winters. All this time...it was real? Erick couldn't believe his eyes.

"I have to still be dreaming." he said to himself. He reached over and pinched himself. "Okay...so I'm not dreaming...well, I might as well make use of this."

Bubble Monkey landed on the head of Tessie and the serpent moved over to the peninsula where Erick was standing. "Hop on kid," Bubble said. "Tessie won't hurt you, she's a good friend of mine." Erick, still shocked, got onto the back to Tessie and the serpent began to move out too sea

Bubble hopped off Tessie's head and onto the back. "So...Bubble, how do you know Tessie?" Erick asked.

"How do you think I made it to that crummy department store?" Bubble responded. "Tessie was willing to give me a ride over so I could look for a monkey wife...unfortunately I didn't have much luck...but hey, at least I'm getting you places."

"Yeah, thanks a lot for that Bubble, you've been a big help so far." Erick responded.

"Thanks kid, I'm sure whatever you're doing with those other kids will go well, they'll be lucky to have someone like you." Bubble responded.

"Wait how did you know what I was doing?" Erick asked. "I don't think I ever told you what I was doing." The monkey scratched its head.

"You were talking in your sleep kid, I heard the whole thing. Don't worry though, I'm sure Moon and Sarah will enjoy having you around, you're a smart kid so you'll definitely be useful."

"Thanks Bubble...I hope you meet someone one day as well."

Tessie evenutally stopped along the coast near a mountain. Bubble Monkey hopped back onto Erick's shoulder, "This is the place kiddo, just through a cave is Dr. Andonuts' Laboratory, all we gotta do get past Stonehenge and we'll be good."

Erick nodded as they both turned to watch Tessie drift away before sinking back into the water.

Erick heard a growl in the distance and immediately turned around firing his laser. It hit another Gruff Goat square in the face causing it to collapse.

"The two arrived by a cave entrance opening, there was also a steep ledge with, quite weirdly, an iron shaped pencil statue blocking the way. "Strange, that wasn't here before." Bubble Monkey said, "Guess we have no choice but to go through that little cave dungeon thing right there."

Erick turned to see a hole in the side of a cliff with a sign right next to it. The sign read.

_"This Dungeon has no entrance fee! Come on in!"_

Erick sighed, "Well, this is the only way around. Moon, Sarah, you two hold on just a little longer, I'm coming to save you!"

**I was going to make Erick's Winters adventure into one chapter, but whilst I was writing I eventually got to a point where I realized I forgot a certain part of the earlier section of this chapter, as a result I ended up rewriting this chapter entirely. By then I was a little exhausted and decided that it would probably be for the best to split this chapter in two.**

**As for a certain burnette in this chapter. While I do support the whole TonyJeff relationship, Erick's character is a little bit different. I have a whole "lore" planned ahead going into this story that I am going to stick through until the very end. As a result Giovanna's weird addition to this story is one of the more "minor" changes I made. I hope I've made it clear to you why there are OCs popping up randomly. If not then let me know.**

**Also I hope the whole animal translator on Bubble Monkey wasn't to big of a deal. I haven't really seen how most people interpret that part so I wasn't quite sure what to do considering Jeff/Erick doesn't have telepathy like the others.**

**Anyways thanks for reading chapter 9 I hope you enjoyed it if you have anything you'd like to say let me know I'm always open to see what others think even if it's just a comment like "really cool chapter"**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Winters Wonderland, Part 2: The Rescue Mission**.

The inside of the cave was pretty large. Once Erick had entered he took notice to the amount of man made work done in the dungeon. The ground was incredibly flat, rocks were positioned into a maze like path along the cave, and there were even present boxes at the end of some paths."Very well made, the overall design is relatively simple but I can tell a lot of care was put into this." Erick said looking around. He noticed a sign to his right imprinted on the sign was.

_"Welcome to my modest dungeon."_

_-Brick Road._

He began to walk down one of the paths when he was stopped by a duck. But this wasn't just any duck. This duck had a psychotic look in its eyes, it was spinning around sometimes even falling over. Erick looked at the duck with interest.

"Fascinating," he said. "I've never seen any ducks behave like this." He spoke to soon, immediately the duck turned looking at him with red eyes, then it honked very loudly and flew into him pecking him on the head. Erick retaliated back quickly shooting the duck down with one swift pull of the lasers trigger.

He sighed, for as irritating as it was that he was now shooting wild animals with a laser just to get to Threed, he knew that deep down he had to. Moon and Sarah, whoever they were, were counting on him to rescue both of them. "Those two definitely are mysterious though," Erick said to himself, "Communicating with me telepathically, maybe faith entitled us to all be bound by some sort of...connection."

"You okay kiddo?" Bubble Monkey asked. "You've been standing still for quite some time now."

Erick shook his head "Yeah I'm fine"

He continued onwards turning left at a split end, he began walking up and around before coming to a dead end, however there was a small present box at there as well. Erick felt himself squishing something as he walked over to the present. He bent down and looked at the bottom of his shoe, some sort of purple, whipped cream object was on his shoe. "Gross stepped on a protoplasm." he said peeling it off and tossing it to the side.

He opened the present box to find something that resembled a broken iron along with some bread and insecticide spray. "Interesting." he said examining the iron. "It doesn't seem to hard to fix, maybe I'll keep it with me for now."

He went back the way he came and this time continued straight at the cross road. That's when he felt something on his arm, like a bite. He shook his arm only for a rat to fly off it and hit the wall. The rat immediately made another attempt to sink its teeth into him but he shot the rat without hesitation.

He rounded another corner only to be met face to face with another one of those mad ducks. The duck quaked annoyingly then pecked him in the arm. "Oh for the love of…" Erick snapped shooting the duck. "Stupid freaking ducks." he muttered to himself.

"Hey kiddo," Bubble said. "You may wanna be careful, this sign right here says to watch for falling materials."

"Falling materials? This cave seems quite stable with support, there's not a stalactite in sight, and on top of that it'd take quite a bit of force to…"

BANG!

Rocks fell a few feet away from them and a familiar music began to play yet again. The photo man landed on the ground and readied his camera.

"Did you just?"

Erick shook his head before giving a thumbs up to camera and smiling. "I must say kid, you're much more into this than the other two maybe you can help them take better pictures!" the man said. "Also, wow, what a great photograph it will always bring back the fondest of memories!" with that the man vanished.

"What the heck is that man's deal?" Bubble Monkey asked as Erick continued through the mini maze

"I'm not sure but I don't mind him," Erick responded, as he rounded another corner shooting a rat out of the way. There was another present box at the end when he opened it he found another laser gun. He examined the laser before quickly firing a beam, it hit another duck flying towards him the duck collapsed onto the ground. "Sweet, this one will definitely pack more of punch." Erick said placing the pop gun in his backpack.

He arrived by an exit hole that showed him that he had made it back around, there was also a phone by the exit as well. "Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt to call Maxwell, just to let him, Tony, and Giovanna know that I'm alright." Erick said to himself picking up the phone. After a few minutes Maxwell's voice rang through the receiver end.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"It's me Maxwell, I'm just calling to let you know I'm okay."

"Ah Erick, so nice to hear from you, though I must admit it's still quite early in the morning, only about seven...where are you?"

"I'm in some, dungeon the creator calls himself Brick Road." Erick replied.

"Ah yeah, I've heard quite a bit about that man, he and Dr. Andonuts are supposedly working on some sort of "secret project." Anyways, stay strong Erick." he said. "Tony, Giovanna, and I are rooting for you, Moon, and Sarah every step of the way! I'll be sure to let them know you're alright...anyways gotta go bye!"

Erick hung up the phone and walked outside of the dungeon, a man with a practically bald head and a goatee was waiting at the exit once he exited. He had some dust on his green work outfit wand was giving Erick a rather judgy look.

"Maybe it was too easy?" the man said. "My name is Brickroad, the dungeon developer...How was your experience in the dungeon?" he asked.

"It wasn't bad, the design was very well done, on top of that the gifts weren't that bad either. If I had to rate it, I'd give four and a half stars." Erick replied. The man lit up at these words.

"Oh man thanks kid, I've devoted my life to making dungeons. Someday I hope to become the greatest dungeon of all time they'll call me Dungeon Man!" he said with pride.

"Um...how do you expect to do that?" Erick asked.

"Well, by combining my skills and Dr. Andonuts' intelligence, I could become a literal dungeon. A statue dungeon that would have loads of traps, gifts, ropes, the whole shebang! I believe that I can truly become Dungeon Man! The first combination of human and dungeon in history!" he shouted waving his hand in the air.

"Okay Brickroad, you do that...um...how far away is Dr. Andonuts' laboratory?" Erick asked.

The man pointed to another cave. "Just through that cave sunny," he said. "You know what kid, I've taken a fancy to you. Let's meet again once I have become Dungeon Man!" he said outstretching his hand.

Erick shook the man's hand hesitantly, "Sure, we can do that!" he said walking away.

Erick entered the cave with Bubble Monkey still on his shoulder. "What a strange man." Bubble said. "All that talk about dungeons and stuff, I mean does he honestly think he can really become a dungeon?"

"If Tessie's real anything is possible." Erick muttered.

Out of nowhere, a rat jumped towards him biting his arm. Erick shook it off and quickly shot it. "That's...gonna leave a mark." he said rubbing his now bleeding arm.

"Well kid it ain't over yet." Bubble said pointing his monkey hand towards more charging rats.

"Oh come on!" Erick snapped shooting each one down with the Stun gun. "Ugh how annoying." he muttered continuing onwards.

He continued through the cave when he came to an opening, there was a rope to his left which immediately grabbed and climbed up with ease. When he got to the top he found another present box when he opened it he found a plastic bracelet inside.

"Enemies seem to attack the arms more often than not." Erick said to himself picking the bracelet up out of the box. "Maybe this'll stop them." he felt Bubble Monkey tapping his shoulder.

"Hey kid, is it just me or does that mushroom have legs?" Bubble asked.

Erick glanced down the ledge, to his shock, he to saw a mushroom strutting around the floor of a cave. He quickly blinked just to be sure this wasn't his imagination. "Fascinating," he said. "I must get a closer look." he hurried down the rope and observed the mushroom. It strutted being absent minded to his existence.

Out of nowhere another rat bit Erick's arm, he glanced at his arm, one of the rat's teeth had hit the bracelet and it now wasn't as deep as the last one. He flung it off and shot it while it was still in the air. When he turned back to the mushroom he found it running towards him before kicking him in the leg, despite being just a mushroom the kick felt powerful enough to hurt his leg and possibly even bruise it!

Erick quickly fired his laser at the mushroom it bounded off the top of the head. "For the love of…" Erick began until the mushroom kicked him again. He kicked the mushroom himself then shot it in the legs the mushroom fell to the ground next to a present box and stopped moving.

Erick moved over to the box, before he opened it he shot the mushroom again. "If it gets up let me know Bubble!" Erick told the monkey.

He opened the box and much to his surprise there was a bottle rocket inside of the box. Not as big as the one he currently had in his backpack but he wasn't going to pass on a free explosive. He loved things like these, often times he and Tony would set off fireworks and bottle rockets outside in the school's courtyard during class breaks. It was against the rules but boy was it fun. Unfortunately his backpack was getting quite close to filling up, but he brushed that aside.

"Hey Erick." Bubble Monkey said hopping up and down on his shoulder. "Gimme some gum, I see the exit to the cave, but the rope ain't dangling down for you two climb, I can float up and toss it down for you!" Erick looked at the ledge, before taking out a piece of bubble gum and handing it to the monkey.

Bubble monkey took the gum eagerly and began to chew it. After a while the monkey blew another bubble and began to float upwards towards the ledge. It reached the top and fiddled with the rope for a bit before tossing the string down to Erick.

Erick climbed up the rope with ease. "Thank you Bubble Monkey, you've been very helpful, here have another piece." he said giving the monkey another piece of gum.

He arrived at a split intersection in the cave. Glancing towards one side he could see a giant mushroom in front of a cave exit. "Yeah, I don't think so." he said immediately moving towards the other side.

The two exited into around mid morning sunlight. Directly outside was huge stone circular pattern or structure. Erick didn't know what to label it as, however next to one of the stone pillars was another pink monkey with a bow in it's hair.

"Wow wee, now she's my type." Bubble said excitedly "I think I'll ask her for a date!" the monkey caught Erick's sideways look. "Oh...yeah I'm supposed to stay with you."

Erick shook his head. "No you had the choice to come with me, you were such a big help Bubble, you go on ahead. I'll be fine." the monkey perked up.

"Thanks a lot kiddo." the monkey said. "I hope to see you again sometime." the monkey hopped off his shoulder and approached the female monkey, the two chatted for a bit before running up the side of a hill.

"Well...I'm on my own, but that's not a problem." Erick said to himself. "This is Stonehenge, my father's laboratory is just up ahead." this was true, over a hillside Erick could just about make up a gray roofed building with a satellite in the corner. "It's just a hop skip and a jump away from…" Erick stopped suddenly, for right in the center of stonehenge was a giant chubby person wearing nothing but a brown leaf or grass skirt around it's giant waist carrying a thick club.

"That's a...Cave Boy...I can't believe it...they're real!" Erick said in disbelief. The Cave Boy wandered around the middle of the structure carrying his club. As it stomped Erick could feel shockwaves going through the ground.

"Well, this is a problem." he said to himself. He tried to think of ways around it, each one was more stupid than the last. He could try walking past the Cave Boy...or not, the legends surrounding the Cave Boys made them out to be extremely violent the club it was carrying definitely didn't help. It's size might be its downfall. Erick thought. "No way something like that can move swiftly, let me just test something."

He ducked behind one of the massive stone pillars that made up stonehenge then aimed his laser at the Cave Boy's head before firing a shot. The laser beam hit the Cave Boy's head causing it to shriek something similar to a war cry.

"GROAR!"

Erick watched in shock, despite its massive size, the Cave Boy could move about as fast a rabbit hopping away from its predator. The giant ran around in circles trying to figure out where the shot had come from. "It's going to take way too many shots to get past this thing." Erick said to himself. "If only I had something that packed more of a…" an idea suddenly came to him.

He quickly dropped his backpack to the ground and whipped out the smaller bottle rocket he had found in the cave. "If this doesn't work one more shot from the Stun gun will." he told himself He quickly set up the bottle rocket aimed it at the Cave Boy and fired the rocket.

KA-BOOM!

The rocket struck the Cave Boy's stomach and a tiny explosion went off. When Erick looked from his hiding spot he saw the Cave Boy on the ground laying motionless. Also strangely a present box next to its body. Erick opened with curiosity only to find an entire picnic lunch inside. "That's quite the reward for taking down a foe like this." Erick said placing the picnic lunch in his backpack.

He arrived at the entrance to the laboratory. A sign hung from the doorstep that read

Andonuts Laboratory Home to the renowned inventor Dr. Andonuts.

Erick sighed to himself. He couldn't remember his father all to well having not seen him since who knows when, but that didn't matter, he needed his father's help to get to Threed. He gathered up his nerve then pushed the door open.

The inside of the laboratory was quite spacious, there was a bunch of little gadgets and trinkets that did who knows what scattered all over the place. Erick walked inside and looked around. His father had never hired a secretary or assistant or anything like that...but as he looked around he caught sight of a staircase he climbed up the stairs and came to a little circular opening. Down below over the balcony he could see a giant orb like structure or vehicle of some sorts. There were a bunch of papers on tables scattered around with calculations on the top of one them told him that the object was called the Sky Runner. But what caught his eye was another present box in the corner. He moved over to it there was a card attached.

_To Erick,_

_Happy eleventh birthday my boy, I hope you're doing good in the boarding school, I've heard many great things from your professor! Sorry I couldn't come and see you this year, I'll try to get there next year. I was given this little invention here by a close associate of mine, while I could fix it easily, I think you'd like to have a bit of fun fixing it!_

_Dr. Andonuts, Dad._

Erick was a little irritated by this, it had been two years since his eleventh birthday and his father never once bothered to send this to him. But he had come to expect this from his father at this point, he had never come to visit the boarding school and never took Erick home during breaks. He opened the box and found another broken invention this time it resembled that of a pipe. He sighed to himself as he placed it in his backpack...there was just barely enough room to fit it in.

Erick walked downstairs and continued to look around. After about a minute he found his father Dr. Andonuts was a man with entirely white hair that was split in the middle by a complete bald shave. He wore glasses and, like Erick, had hazel brown eyes. His father noticed him and walked over to him.

"I assume that Mr. Brickroad, the dungeon maker, referred you?" he asked. Erick facepalmed. "I've told the man that I'd help him become dungeon man can you please just tell him to stop!"

"I'm Erick, your son!" Erick snapped.

"What...who...my son? Oh...I can't...I can't believe it...wait...you're not my son, my son's name is…"

"IT IS ERICK!" Erick shouted. "Jeez, you can't remember your own son's name! What is this, Pokemon?"

"I'm sorry Erick but I've been quite all over the place recently, how old are you now, twelve?"

"I'm thirteen."

"So it's been maybe ten years since I last saw you then." his father replied. "I'm so glad you're such a healthy boy, I knew the boarding school would care better for you than I could with all my research and whatnot...Uh, those glasses look good on you...how about a donut?"

"Thanks...I guess." Erick replied.

"Well, I was only offering...I'd also like a donut right about now." Erick facepalmed again. "Have you already checked out Stonehenge?" his father asked.

"Yeah I have, it's on the way here." Erick replied

"Well, at least I asked...okay then...by the way, why are you here?"

"It's kind of a long story." Erick said. "Basically, last night while I was sleeping I was contacted by a girl named Sarah and a boy named Moon, they said they were in trouble and that needed my help...they are apparently stuck in Threed."

His father looked at him quizzically, "I understand, that girl Sarah must've sensed I was here."

"You know Sarah?" Erick asked in disbelief

"She's the special girl from Twoson. You know, Sarah Polestar?" his father asked.

"Never heard of her." Erick said.

"Regardless, you'll know her soon enough Erick my boy. Okay then, I'll try to help you out." his father said. "Now I'm working on my latest invention, it's a little something called the Phase Distorter that can connect two points in time and space! It's still incomplete however, so in that case, I'll let you use another invention that I call the Sky Runner." he guided Erick over to strange orb structure he had seen earlier.

"It's a little old but it'll certainly help get you to Threed. When you board always listen for the message that comes from your destination. You'll get there for sure if you listen to the message What do you think...isn't it neat?" Erick nodded. "Spectacular," his father said. "Get in...let's get back together in another 10 years or so." he added jokingly.

Erick got inside and took the controller, it resembled that of a SNES controller. "Okay very weird." Erick said. He inputted the coordinates to Threed, suddenly, the machine began to make a bunch of noises Erick glanced out of one of the side windows, to his surprise he found himself now in the air! "Alrighty then, Moon, Sarah...I'm coming." Erick said. The machine rose out of the laboratory and shot off into the still rising sun.

**(Threed)**

Moon and Sarah were both sitting down in the cave cell. Neither of them had eaten anything for nearly two days, they hadn't done much either. Both of them were worried about Erick, they weren't sure where he was or anything of the sorts.

"Perhaps we should try to contact him again." Moon said quietly.

Sarah held his hand firmly, "He's fine Moon, don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here soon"

Suddenly, they heard a bunch of sounds that sounded like a machine falling apart. They both silently got up gripped their bat and frying pan with their hands and crept towards the door. When they got to about the center Moon paused suddenly, he had a vision of an explosion going off and his reflexes were screaming.

DANGER! RUN!

He quickly tackled Sarah to the ground as something crashed into the ground above them.

KA-BOOM!

An explosion of dust and dirt covered their line of vision for a few minutes. Once it had cleared they both looked wide eyed at a now completely destroyed metallic object on the ground. Then through some of the dust a boy wearing glasses with black hair and hazel brown eyes stepped out of the rubble.

"Man, oh, man, did that ever scare me!" the boy said coughing. "The Sky Runner, I guess it took a little damage while landing. Oh well." he took a moment to adjust his glasses before moving over to the two of them. "You don't need to be scared...or...you know...explain a thing...I'm Erick. I came because you called me. You two must be Moon and Sarah am I right?" he asked.

The two of them nodded. "Um okay then, so the three of us, we'll make a Triforce to stop Giygas then!" Erick said. "I'm not exactly very strong, really near-sighted, and I tend to be a little reckless with explosives...this is just the way I am. I hope you want me to be your friend." he said outstretching his hand.

Sarah took his hand, "Of course we want to be friends with you!" she said.

"All right, then...let's get back to the journey then!" Erick said before catching Moon's eye. "Um...is Moon okay?" he asked.

Sarah looked at him, Moon was just giving Erick a blank stare it seemed almost as if he was looking for something. After a moment he opened his mouth.

"So...it's great that you're here and all...but...we're still stuck in here." Moon said.

"Don't worry, I've got just the thing to help get us out of here!" Erick said dropping his backpack to the ground. Moon and Sarah both watched in shock as he pulled out all sorts of things. Two lasers, a few broken objects, a spray can, a pack of bubble gum, a picnic lunch, and Insecticide spray before finally pulling out something that looked like a miniature jukebox.

"It's a bit damaged but I think it'll work just fine." Erick said moving over to the door. He put the machine over the keyhole and pressed a button. The machine beeped and flashed different colored lights before clicking. Just like that, the door swung open.

"Wow, incredible job!" Sarah said with joy.

"Not to be rude or anything." Moon said "But maybe we should get rid of a few of you items here."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Erick replied. "Um, if you want you two can take the picnic lunch, I assume you two haven't eaten in quite some time."

"Okay thanks a lot Erick." Sarah said. "Um, it might be a bit dangerous to exit at the moment, you won't mind if we eat here will you?"

"Knock yourselves out." Erick replied. "Though I would advise both you to hurry up, the internal clock on the Sky Runner told me it's nearly eight at night. We should probably get a hotel room or something."

The three sat down and Erick began to fiddle with the broken laser gun Tony had found. Through the corner of his eye he could see that Moon was looking at him quite strangely, it seemed like he was...looking for something. Sarah thankfully broke the awkward silence between them.

"So Erick, that gun you've got there, I don't think it'll ever work again...why are you tampering with it?"

"It's just a little broken." Erick responded. "The trigger just needs to be adjusted, and if I'm not mistaken…yep...okay then, I'll wait until we are in the hotel room, I'm gonna need some light to fix this." he said placing the gun back in his backpack.

"You seem to have a thing for fixing broken stuff." Moon said quietly after swallowing a bit of cake...perhaps you could fix this," he said as he pulled out a broken machine that was in Sarah's backpack and handing it to him.

Erick glanced at the machine, "I'll see what I can do," he said taking the machine.

Moon and Sarah finished eating after a few minutes and both stood up, but not before withdrawing a baseball bat and a frying pan from their backpacks. Erick noticed then that they were both wearing copper bracelets and little charms around their necks. What bothered him more however, was that they were both holding hands.

"Oh brother, those two are in love?" he asked himself. "Great, just great, it's not like everything can totally go wrong with that as factor."

"You coming Erick?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah I'm coming."

The trio arrived at the exit base where a ladder was hanging leading to an opening in the top. "I'll go first," Moon said grasping it, "I'll signal you when it's safe to come up as well." he grabbed the ladder and began to climb up.

When he arrived at the top he found himself in the center of Threed's graveyard. To his relief there wasn't a ghost, puppet, zombie or anything else in sight. He turned towards the hole and made a motion with his hand. A moment later, Erick and Sarah both popped out of the hole as well. "Alright let's get moving!" Moon said.

Suddenly a hand emerged from the ground. Several Zombies rose out of graves in the Earth covered with dirt. Their pale red eyes stared into their souls. Alongside them, a few ghosts floated over laughing menacingly. "Alright you undead freakshows! It's payback time!" Sarah shouted All of the monsters charged towards them. Erick readied his laser but then he watched something that stunned him further beyond his very belief.

"PSI FIRE α!" Sarah shouted. Erick watched in shock as fire erupted out her hand burning all of the Zombies to a crisp. He looked at Moon who didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that she had clearly just made fire appear out of nowhere.

"PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted, Several bright multi-colored beams shot out of his hand enveloping the ghosts and making all of them vanish in an instant. He and Sarah both looked at each other smiling. Erick was trying to wrap his head around what had just happened.

"Are you two witches or something how the heck did you do that?" He asked. They both looked at him with confusion like they didn't even understand what he was asking. "You two just shot fire and lasers out of your hands!"

"Yeah...and?" Moon asked.

"THAT IS NOT EVEN SCIENTIFICALLY POSSIBLE!"

"You realize you can do it too right?" Sarah asked.

"No I can't just DO that! What the heck makes you think I can?"

"You're one of the chosen four destined to stop Giygas, you…" Moon stopped talking. Sarah looked at him with concern. Erick took a step backwards as Moon's eyes were looking at him like they were...looking for something.

"I can't believe it." he said after a moment. "You don't have physic powers...I sense no PSI energy coming from you. You're just...normal."

"Excuse me...what?" Erick asked.

"Our powers all called PSI powers." Sarah said. "We possess a special type of energy that allows us to use mystical powers, like Rollin, or elemental powers like Fire, Freeze, and Thunder. We are also able to cast shields, heal, and drain other things or people's PSI energy."

"So you two mean to tell me that you have Pyrokinesis, Electrokinesis, Cyrokinesis, Photokinesis!" Erick snapped.

They both gave him a blank stare.

"What now?" Moon asked.

Erick facepalmed, these two didn't even know what their powers were called. "Pyrokinesis...the ability to create and manipulate fire! Electrokinesis...the ability to create and control lightning and electricity. Cyrokinesis...the ability to create and control Ice! Photokinesis, the ability to create and manipulate light!" he snapped.

"Look at Mr. Smarty over here." Sarah said teasingly. "Knows that our powers exist because he's got big words for them!"

"You're powers are meant to stay in video games and movies NOT be usable in real life!"

"Well sorry Mr. Science but we can use these kinesises and we are going to."

"DUCK!" Moon shouted.

Erick watched as Moon tackled Sarah to the ground just as a zombie emerged from the ground behind her and made a motion to grab her. Quickly he fired his laser at the zombie making its head fall to the ground, its body collapsed and it moved no more.

"You have Precognition too?" Erick asked in disbelief.

"Bless you?" Moon said as he and Sarah got up off the ground.

"Precognition...the ability to see future events!"

"Oh that's what those visions I've been getting are called. Cool!"

Erick facepalmed, "No matter let's just get to that hotel room."

Once the trio had entered the hotel room and Moon and Sarah had both prepared themselves for bed. The couple climbed into bed and fell asleep instantly. Erick however, stayed up tinkering with the laser Tony had found. He kept his mind focused on the two lovers as they slept. "It's so...strange." he said watching them. "Both of them defy all laws of scientific reason. But their powers are...extraordinary! I must observe their powers carefully, this could be a great undertaking in all of science! But...then again, they are supposed to be my friends, maybe watching them will allow me to learn more about them." he finally fixed the laser and settled down in the opposite bed.

"Well, I guess this is the start of something new...a grand adventure is about to unfold in front of us...I can hardly wait!" he said before falling asleep.

**That's all for today's chapter. Personally I always appreciated having Jeff around as a party member he always stood out as being the character who would be both fascinated and confused by the wacky nature of stuff like this in real life.**

**I wanted to have a bit of interaction between Erick along with Moon and Sarah towards the end just for a good tip of what's to come. I don't fully intend to keep a whole "smarty" character going into Erick mainly just with the fear of using of big words in wrong places but I'll try my best to at least keep it pretty standard.**

**Anyways this wraps up my first ten chapters for the story. I personally like to divide each of the chapters into "arcs" **

**The first 4 chapters are being titled**** "The beginning journey."**

**The next 3 being entitled "A friend indeed."**

**And finally we reach arc 3 "The Triforce"**

**Arc three I plan to end around the desert but still work in progress. **

**Anyways thanks for reading if you liked the chapter be sure to let me know and I'll try to get chapter 11 up really soon cause it's gonna be INTENTS!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: INTENTS Battles.**

Moon awoke early the next morning with a splitting headache once again. "Yep, every damn morning." he muttered. He had noticed that the pain was significantly stronger than usual. It felt horrible, he felt like his head might split in two. "I...just don't...ergh!" his head throbbed. He shook his head, the pain didn't vanish, if anything it got worse. It just never stopped, his head began to spin for a bit.

Suddenly the image of circus tent in the middle of...somewhere flashed through his head. It wasn't the Zombie Relief Corps but it was definitely in Threed. He wasn't sure what the deal was, but all of a sudden, he knew where they were supposed to go.

He glanced over at Erick who was sleeping soundly in the bed opposite to him and Sarah, no PSI powers still felt strange to him but if that's what faith intended so be it.

_"So, new kid seems pretty smart Eh? How long do you think Sarah will wanna stay with you before switching gears with him? I give it maybe two days..she didn't seem to fond of me!"_

The pain in his head increased drastically as Dark Moon spoke to him. He hoped more than anything that Sarah wouldn't leave him like that. If that were to happen, her authority would be gone and she'd be in massive danger, Dark Moon wouldn't be required to listen her, to make matters worse, he'd be allowed to hurt her!

Moon knew that his darker side hurt people. Sometimes, he'd found himself regaining his control in front of people on the ground, severely hurt, and sometimes barely able to move. Usually it was the school bullies or anyone who ticked him off...but it didn't stop him from worrying.

Sarah suddenly began to stir, she awoke with a jump feeling Moon's arm no longer around her. She quickly glanced to her side and saw him sitting up holding his head, he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that she had just woken up. Then she sensed an excessive amount of dark energy emitting off him yet again. She gasped, which made Moon jump a little. She quickly got up and grasped his hand.

"Moon stop please!" she said. She had been completely unaware that he could just pop up at random, she was worried she had missed something. While she wasn't fully aware as to just what Dark Moon was capable of she didn't want anything else to go wrong because of it.

Moon attempted to give her a sweet smile but with the amount of pain he was in it was next to impossible. "It's alright Sarah…" he said calmly. "He's not in control...you don't have to be afraid." Sarah drew back from him, she could still feel an excessive amount of dark energy around him so she was almost certain that he was lying.

"I don't believe you!" She said firmly.

Moon groaned to himself, this was something he was hoping to avoid. He had no way to prove to Sarah that he was in control at the moment and he had a feeling that he wasn't going to be able to get close to her.

_"Well isn't this a sight to behold, she doesn't understand that I emit Dark Energy from you all the time...especially when we talk...you always get so much...better...when we do!"_

Moon tried to clear his thoughts from him so he couldn't remember him. This time, instead of making him vanish, the pain got much worse.

_"Nice try...but I've been through this multiple times, I only listened to you then since I had no purpose to be there at the moment. But, oh how I do enjoy this, your suffering, pain, misery. It's beautiful, not even your own girlfriend, the only person in existence to sense that I exist, can't understand just how much hell your going through. The best part is, your frustration with her for not believing you is making this so much more enjoyable."_

"Sarah...please." Moon groaned as he started to feel dizzy and his head began to spin. Sarah grew a bit worried that she had done something wrong by mistake. She watched nervously as he stood up, he walked a few uneasy steps away from her...then he collapsed.

"MOON!" she screamed. Her scream jolted Erick awake.

"Where's the fire Sarah?" he asked sleepily.

"It's Moon...he just...passed out." she said with a shaky voice.

Erick shook himself awake at these words. "Why didn't you say something earlier?" he asked as he got up. He moved over Moon and felt around for his pulse. His heartbeat was indescribably slow. When he turned towards Sarah he noticed that she looked severely pale and on the brink of crying. He felt a little helpless, he wasn't familiar with either of their powers having none himself...if he was going to try and help he was going to need to learn more about them.

"Your powers Sarah...do they typically give you low physical energy...make you feel uneasy?" he asked. Sarah didn't say anything back to him, all she did was stare at Moon nervously. "Sarah, I'm trying to help but I can't do anything if you won't talk!" he snapped.

He watched as she shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said shakily, "We share a deeper connection, I'm able to feel his PSI energy...he's able to feel mine...the monsters that we fight emit PSI energy too, only it's dark and evil. As for our powers...if we unleash a giant burst attack we'll typically feel uneasy afterwards...our bodies aren't used to it quite yet...also his um...preconvision""Precognition." Erick corrected.

"Yeah, that, whenever he gets a new vision he'll sometimes be wobbly...he's never collapsed before." she said. This was a lie, unlike Moon she didn't have precognition, she had no idea if that was true or not. She knew the real reason he collapsed was because of Dark Moon, but she wasn't going to tell Erick about that.

"Well is there anything you could do about that?" Erick asked.

"Well...it seems like his powers went into overload." Sarah said hesitantly. "Maybe if I were to use PSI Magnet I could get his energy back to normal."

As if something bad happened Moon bolted awake and immiediatly grabbed her arm. Erick jumped back in surprise. "Dude...you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Moon sighed. "Yeah sorry about that, I think I just...fell back asleep we did sleep on a rough rocky floor for two days after all." he glanced at Sarah who was looking at him with concern. "I'm fine Sarah don't worry." he said as he took her hand.

Erick looked at both of them skeptically, "Moon are you sure you're feeling alright...Sarah said your powers may have overloaded...maybe you should lie still for a while." he said.

Moon glanced at Sarah who was giving him a nervous look. He concentrated his thoughts on her trying to contact her telepathically.

_"Does he know about...him?"_

Sarah blinked for a bit...confused as to where the voice came from before understanding.

_"No...he can't sense Dark Energy...I didn't tell him...should we though?"_

_"Absolutely not, it's already dangerous enough that you know, I'd rather not have him be terrified"_

Erick was just looking at them as they stared at each other in complete silence. "Is this natural?" he wondered. "Perhaps their bond is stronger than I first thought...fascinating...I wonder just what else they're capable of." Moon eventually shook his head. "Anyways...yes Erick, I'm fine...I did get a vision...we need to be looking for some tent...not the Zombie Relief Corps Tent...but some other tent here in Threed." Sarah nodded. "Yes of course...but before we do anything...I think we should take care of Erick's items...we don't need him lugging around everything." She responded.

"I'll be fine, I can carry quite a bit in here." Erick said rummaging through his backpack. "I just need to keep the broken inventions...but we could probably sell all the other junk I have in here. I fixed this defense spray...it sells for quite a bit!" he continued pulling out what looked like a can of spray paint.

"Fantastic, maybe we'll find that arms dealer as well." Moon continued. "They said he should be somewhere around here.

The trio exited the hotel and walked down towards the department store. Along the way Erick noticed a sketchy looking person leaning against the behind of the building. He was wearing pale green, looked bald, and was wearing black sunglasses. "Moon...I think that's the arms dealer." he said tapping him on the shoulder and pointing.

"One thing at a time Erick, you need to sort out your items...just sell whatever you don't need." Sarah replied as they entered the department store. "Moon and I will look around for anything else."

"Actually I'm going to call Escargo Express, Erick hand me anything you don't think we'll need but probably can't sell." Moon said stretching his hand out. Erick nodded and took out the Pack of bubble gum, it seemed pointless to keep it since Bubble Monkey was no longer around. He also took out the Bad Key Machine, despite probably coming in handy if they needed to get out of a prison cell again, he didn't want the greedy thoughts just floating around their heads.

"Sarah you stay with Erick make sure everything goes smoothly here, I'll wait outside for Escargo Express...also here." he said hand both of them a bit of money. "Buy a copper bracelet for yourself Erick."

Erick turned to Sarah once Moon had left. "So...I guess I'll just start selling then." he turned towards the counter where a man was sitting down.

"Hello there...may I help you?" the man asked.

"Uh yeah, I have a few things I'd like to sell," Erick replied putting the Defense spray, Insecticide Spray, and plastic bracelet on the table. The man examined each one carefully before taking the lot and handing Erick a generous amount of cash.

"Here you go kiddo, three hundred and forty nine dollars for the...Is there anything else?"

"Yes," Sarah said walking over holding a copper bracelet. "He'd like one of these."

"Okie dokie then I'll just keep the money then, that's how much it is for the bracelet." Erick felt his jaw hit the ground, if that was how much it was for a copper bracelet, how on earth did Moon and Sarah have enough money for two? Sarah nodded and handed the bracelet to Erick.

"Let's go Erick, Moon's waiting on us." she said.

"Sarah...how do you expect us to pay for food when we just threw all that money away on this?" Erick asked. To his surprise she laughed.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot, Moon's dad is sending us a bunch of money for our adventure, apparently he's working at a place that pays quite a hefty chunk." she said. "He's depositing money overtime, it seems like we won't have to worry about that." Erick honestly didn't know how to feel about this. "Well come on now Erick." she said happily, "We've got another day of kicking monster butt!"

"Strange," Erick said to himself. "She seems to be enjoying this whole thing way too much, I wouldn't blame her, I'm sure Moon treats her like royalty."

The two walked outside where they saw Moon sitting on a bench. He jumped up and walked over to them when they caught his eye. "You want to talk to the arms dealer?" he asked. Erick nodded eagerly.

"Good cause he's right behind the building."

"SHH!" the man said with a low voice. The three of them turned towards him, he made a motion with hand for them to come to him. "Don't talk to loud." he said. "What'd you kids want, I can take stuff off your hands or sell you some bottle rockets...or maybe even a laser gun."

Erick immediately took control of the conversation, "How much for my pop and stun gun?" he asked showing them to the man. He looked through his glasses.

"Fascinating condition." he said. "Quite a sight to behold kid, I'll give you a hundred thirty for the two of them." Erick nodded and handed him both weapons.

"Now, how much for those bottle rockets?" Erick asked.

"Twenty nine dollars a pop!" the man replied.

Moon and Sarah watched with confused expressions as Erick put multiple bottle rockets in his backpack. "Maybe...I shouldn't have given you so much money." Moon said quietly.

"Erick...wouldn't a bomb be better?" Sarah asked. Erick chuckled, he figured that neither of them would know how to use a bottle rocket.

"Actually the bottle rocket, if used correctly, can hurt a lot more than a bomb." he replied. "I can set one up pretty quickly so if we ever get stuck in a situation, I'll be sure to fire one..they come in many sizes, I happen to actually have a larger one with me as well. But I'll save that for some real trouble."

"Just try not to blow us up." Moon responded.

The three continued southwards past the Zombie Relief Corps and finally they arrived on the southern outskirts of town, there was a bunch of Circus cages typically used for holding animals and another tent in the center.

"I think this is the tent I saw in my vision." Moon said as they approached the front. "When I was here, a voice was speaking to me, it told me that if we go here, we'll find something important...maybe it'll help us get past those Zombie guards in the north!"

Sarah flipped one flap of the tent up, they were met with a dark empty nothingness void. She made a motion to go inside when Moon held her back. "What's wrong?" She asked. Moon stayed silent for a bit, he was in yet another daze. "Moon?" no response.

Moon looked at at the dark void inside of the tent. It just didn't seem right, out of nowhere a flash vision saw the tent sprouting into a mouth and closing both of them.

DANGER! RUN!

What he had thought was a tent was actually a demon. Sharp teeth formed around him and Sarah. "RUN!" He shouted grabbing Sarah and moving out of the mouth just as the tent bit down on both of them.

"IS NOW REALLY THE TIME FOR THIS?" Sarah shouted "IT NEARLY ATE US!"

Moon looked at the tent, it now had devilish looking eyes and sharp pointed shark teeth. A massive amount of dark energy was emitting off of it. It was still a tent though, what could it possibly do?

Suddenly the ground below their feet began to crack, several zombies rose out of the ground in front of the tent they groaned and began to move forward swiping at them. "PSI FIRE α!" Sarah shouted. All of the zombies in the front were set on fire their pale skin burned and sizzled until they fell apart into nothingness. Erick fired his laser at several more of them shooting somes heads off being so loosely pieced together. As they continued to take down several waves of Zombies more kept coming up to the earth's surface, almost immediately after one wave fell. The three backed away further from them. However, quite strangely, the zombies never moved far from the tent."The tent seems to function as the control center for the Zombies." Erick said. "We need a way to shut down whatever is calling them."

"Erick you don't understand." Moon responded as he whacked a zombie with his bat. "The tent is the one calling for help...we have to destroy it."

"It's a tent how do you do that?"

"WE BURN IT EINSTEIN!" Sarah shouted as she smacked a Zombie aside with frying pan.

"Sarah save your pyrokinesis, we just need to get you close enough...if only the Zombies couldn't see us." Erick said.

An idea struck Moon, "PSI Flash!" he shouted. A blast of white light flashed in front the zombies instead of putting a drunken effect on them like the mole...they instead started to cry uncontrollably. "PSI Rollin α!" Moon shouted. Each of the zombies were knocked to floor by the bright multicolored beams of light. The tents devilish eyes flashed and immediately several shadowy hands appeared around the tent.

DANGER!"Erick, Sarah get behind me!" Moon shouted. They both quickly ran behind him.

"Shield α!"

A bright wall of light shone in front of them blocking the shadow punches the tent was attempting to give. Moon could still feel impact from them however. The hands rapidly increased the speed of their punches each blow felt worse on him. "One of you...better think of something quick." he grunted, "I...don't know how much longer I can…" A hand punched the shield with immense power causing it to shatter and knocked Moon aside.

"Moon!" Sarah cried. She turned back to the tent. "PSI Fire α!" she shouted. The fire shot out of her hand setting the tent on fire however the shadow hands move around and smacked the fire out. She looked quickly to her side at Moon, he had gotten back up but he was quite hesitant on movement.

"SARAH, MOON! DUCK!" Erick shouted.

They quickly turned around and noticed that one of Erick had purchased was set up and lit. They quickly ducked out of the way as it shot off its base and straight at the tent.

KA-BOOM!

An explosion went off around the tent's base, sparks and shockwaves went all over the place when the smoke had cleared the tent was still standing firm. Then the hands made a movement and grabbed Sarah. "SARAH!" Moon shouted. The tent made movements and drew Sarah closer towards its mouth. Moon's eyes flashed red.

"NO!" he shouted. Erick flinched at that, Moon's voice had suddenly turned cold and evil. He watched as he made a quick movement towards the tent whacking the hand holding Sarah making the hand let go of her. What he found stranger was that Sarah's expression turned to shock and horror as she looked at Moon instead of being grateful that she was rescued. Moon turned towards the tent. His hand flashed brightly and…

"PSI ROLLIN β!"

Several bigger, brighter, stronger, multi-colored beams of light shot out of his hand enveloping the tent entirely. The outline of the tent slowly started to disintegrate into thin air. When the beams had stopped all that remained were two zombies and a trash can.

The zombies made a charge at Moon who was just standing there in a daze.

"PSI FREEZE β!" Sarah screamed. A huge beam of ice shot out of her hand hitting both zombies. Their pale skinned bodies became encapsulated in ice, Sarah then whacked both statues with her frying pan causing the statues to crack then shatter into hundreds of pieces.

"Interesting." Erick said as he watched Sarah grasp Moon's hand and say something that he couldn't quite hear. "In the face of immediate danger between the two of them, they both tapped into a higher level of PSI...perhaps their powers get stronger based on their emotions?" he was both fascinated and concerned by their weird powers. His fascination came from so much to explore and learn about them. His concern however, came from Moon and how cold and heartless he had sounded. "Perhaps I shouldn't worry about that." he said to himself. "It's only natural that he'd want to protect Sarah, probably nothing more than a drastic adrenaline boost."

He walked over to both of them. "Are you two okay?" he asked.

"Yeah we're fine." Moon grunted, "Just a little...beat up." Erick watched as his hand flashed green he placed it over his face where a few bruises were, instantly the bruises faded away. "Anyways, hopefully whatever is in this trash can will help us take care of those guard Zombies." He moved over to the trash can and opened it before gagging.

The inside of the trash can smelled horrible, almost like a mixture of rotten mayonnaise and skunk spray. "What the hell is that smell?" Sarah gagged, Moon fished through the trash can for a bit before withdrawing a small jar of honey.

"I...think it's this." Moon said examining in the jar. "It says here that this is Fly Honey, made from one hundred percent fly juices."

"That has got to be the most disgusting thing I've ever heard of!" Erick said. "Plus, flies don't even make honey!"

"Unless our plan is to make the zombies runaway by it's smell...there's no way we are ever getting past those guards." Sarah said. "Moon for god's sake put that damn thing away!"

Moon opened a separate section of his backpack and tossed the fly honey in there. The smell got somewhat more tolerable. "Well...I guess we'll have to figure something else out." he said. "In the meantime...I'm starving...let's go get some burgers and stuff."

The three sat down outside of a burger joint and ate their food. Erick watched in silence as Moon dipped a french fry into his chocolate milkshake only for Sarah to take a bite out of it.

"Hey that was my fry." he complained in a not so serious tone.

Sarah giggled. "Well it's my fry now." she said playfully. "What are you gonna do about it?"

Moon grinned and began tickling her. Sarah laughed uncontrollably, "Oh come on Moon that's not fair." she said through her continuous laughing.

"It's totally fair Sarah...you ate my fry...I tickle you."

"Do you two mind?" Erick snapped. "Some of us would like to actually eat our food in peace!"

"Erick's right Sarah," Moon said in a more playful tone. "We shouldn't be fighting about who eats whose fry. I'm sorry." he continued kissing her on the forehead." Erick buried his face in his hands.

"You two...just...why?" he asked as they continued to poke each other playfully.

Suddenly, the receiver phone began to ring. Moon picked it up. "Hello this is Apple Kid!" Apple kid said through the phone

"Oh hey Apple kid...what's up?" Moon asked.

"Just wanted to let you know that I finished a pretty unique invention. I'm not sure if it will help you or not...but...I learned that zombies are attracted to a certain smell something really gross but still. Anyways, using this discovery, I invented Zombie Paper, it can be used to trap zombies, it works kind of like fly paper! All you gotta do is place it on the floor of a tent."

"TENTS DON'T HAVE FLOORS!" Erick shouted.

"Is the ground not considered a floor?" Sarah asked.

"Quiet!" Moon hissed.

"Anyways, I'm sure you've seen a tent around, right? You can use the zombie paper to get the zombies to stick to the paper when they move around the tent. I've created enough to probably stop a whole zombie army, you'd be able to clear the area of zombies in no time!" Apple kid continued.

"Thanks Apple kid, that actually helps us a lot." Moon responded.

"Yeah"

"Good good, you should get it any minute now. I've never actually seen a zombie in real life, but if there really are any, Zombie Paper would be very useful. I'll be calling you if I come with anything else." with that he hung up the phone.

"Well what's the deal?" Erick asked once Moon had put the phone away.

"Apple kid is sending us Zombie Paper via the Mach Pizza guy, if we put it in the tent of the Zombie Relief Corps, we could get rid of the two guard zombies!" Moon responded.

"Excellent." Sarah said. "We can get to that underground passage and see what's up. Maybe it's another sanctuary!"

"Excuse me sir!" a man with a black top hat and striped shirt approached them. "While I was delivering pizzas, this weird guy asked me to help him out. He wanted me deliver this thing to someone named Moon who is wandering around Threed. No one else knows about this right?" the three looked at the man with a blank stare.

"But I am Moon."

"Just go along with me on this one okay. I made the decision that you're Moon no matter what."

"Hush girlie." the man snapped. "Here take this Zombie Paper." he gave Moon a package full of smelly fly paper. "That's right Moon...I've done my duty and given you Apple kids, thingamajig. Well goodbye." the man said winking twice before running off.

"Welp...that was...incredibly pointless." Erick said watching the man run off. "Also incredibly lucky, could you imagine if he had picked anyone other than us?"

"Never mind that let's just get to the Zombie Relief Corps Tent." Sarah said taking Moon's hand.

The Trio made their way over to the giant circus tent in the middle of town and entered the tent, there were a handful of people inside. Including the man Moon and Sarah had talked to the day before. He walked over to them.

"You two snobs again?" he asked. "What other "brilliant" ideas have you come up with?"

"A friend of ours invented this thing called Zombie Paper." Sarah replied. "We were hoping to set it up in your tent to lure all the zombies here and capture them all.

All the people in the tent looked at her. "That idea is so goddamn insane...that it just might actually work!" a woman said. "You can totally use our tent!"

The trio set down the paper on the floor of the tent then exited. "Well with that out of the way." Erick said glancing around, "maybe we should just call it a day?"

Moon's head was still in a bit of pain, Dark Moon's unfortunate takeover during the tent and learning Rollin beta had left him in significant pain. "Yeah, I think it's for the better." he said.

**(Later that night)**

Sarah awoke in the middle of the night. She had been thinking about what had happened today. There was still dark energy all around Moon, she had been sensing it there all day. The tent was by far the greatest amount she had felt. She paused, despite what had happened, she still couldn't believe that Dark Moon had saved her, the way he had described himself, she would've thought he'd fire off Rollin without a care in the world for her safety. So what caused him to save her?

She turned to see Moon awake rubbing his head. She quietly stayed put and watched him. "I just don't understand...everyday it's getting worse." Moon said. "You've never hurt this much before." she was met with a severely long silence, she assumed that Dark Moon was talking to him. Out of nowhere his eyes flashed red.

"Too easy." Dark Moon's cold voice hissed. He turned towards Sarah who quickly shut her eyes to avoid getting caught by his emotionless stare. Her heart rate tripled trying her best not to make any indication to him that she was awake. She could feel his breath and she had a suspicion that he was face to face with her.

"Wake up Sarah." he said using a softer tone. She stayed put, he was trying to imitate Moon's voice enough so she'd talk to him. He started to run a finger along her forehead which made her shiver. "How adorable." he whispered into her ear. "Thinking that by staying put you'll hear something important...nice try Sarah." Sarah silently told herself not to panic.

"How about you open those eyes of yours, I miss seeing your loving gaze." he said coldly. Sarah opened her eyes. Upon seeing his cold stare and feeling an truckload of dark energy around him she opened her mouth only to have Dark Moon cover it with his hand. Then, quite forcefully, he snaked his other arm around her and drew her into a tight hug.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" he hissed into her ear. "The pain will only get so much worse for him." Sarah attempted to lower his hand but that didn't work. "I'll cut straight to the point, I'll let you go, if you promise you'll listen to what I have to say." then to Sarah's great surprise, he let go of her anyways. He smiled evilly at her look of terror.

"It really is cute...I watch him try to protect you from the dangers of Giygas and at the same damn time, trying to protect you from me...when what he doesn't realize, is that you are responsible for all his pain...you're what's making him suffer." Sarah felt her body freeze up as she looked at him, she couldn't remember a time every being so scared. Then he outstretched his hand to hers and took it with a semi-gentle grip.

"Come along Sarah, this is no place for us to talk." Sarah shuddered she had to do something other than stand there.

"I'm not letting you leave this room." she said shakily, Dark Moon laughed then guided her outside to the balcony. Sarah began to shiver and chatter uncontrollably in the cold air in Threed. She made a motion to sit down on one of the chairs, only for Dark Moon to grab her and bring her back inside.

"Damn you." Dark Moon said. "You really thought of everything." he sat Sarah down on the sofa and wrapped her in blanket.

"Why are you acting nice?" she questioned.

He frowned. "I have no choice, I'm under his rules."

Sarah gave him a look of doubt.

"Since I am Moon...partially. I'm bound by his own functioning brain and heart, because of that, I am incapable of harming "my girlfriend." I can only do so much to you Sarah...hell, it's the only reason I saved you from that damn tent."

Sarah seized her opportunity before he could keep talking "You said I'm the one giving Moon so much pain...tell me why."

Dark Moon crackled. "It works a little something like this. First, he has to spend a ton of time keeping me out of control, as you know I take over when he's too angry, problem is, he can't control his anger, he's always angry about something and even if he wasn't angry, I can just simply talk to him and tick him off myself. He had a good system going on up until he met you, hadn't heard from me in nearly six months."

Sarah looked into his heartless eyes, "I'm...the reason your back?" she asked nervously.

"Well yes, but actually no!" Dark Moon grunted. "I was always there Sarah just never did anything. But I'm glad to be back putting my old friend through more hell than you could ever imagine!"

"Is there any way I can make the pain stop?" Sarah asked as she tried to fight back tears.

"Well there is one way, you could relieve him of his worries, break up with him, and he has nothing to worry about." Dark Moon said slyly. "Other than that, there is nothing you can do."

"Moon...stop." Sarah said still fighting back her tears.

Dark Moon blinked, then shook his head. Once the dark energy had vanished Sarah saw him give her a look of deep concern. She gathered up her nerve, if this was what she had to do to get him out of his pain, then that was exactly what she was going to do.

"Moon, I think we should…"

"SARAH NO!" Moon shouted covering her mouth. "Don't!" he said removing his hand from her.

"Moon I have to." she cried. "All your pain is being caused by me, I can't bear to see you like this, I don't want to but I have to…" Moon covered her mouth again.

"He's lying." Moon said. "Sarah he's lying to you! Asking about the pain and suffering I go through isn't something he has to answer honestly."

"But why would he lie about that...he seems to love watching you suffer."

"Sarah's he's just trying to make you to lose your authority. If you end things with me, your authority breaks. You have control over him, you end your relationship with me and he doesn't have to listen to you...much worse Sarah...he can actually hurt you!"

"But your pain...your suffering...it comes from…"

"It doesn't come from you Sarah, I'm in pain all the time because of him, you have nothing to do with the amount of pain I receive. Even if you ended things with me, I'd still be in pain. The pain I'm taking comes from keeping him in. The only time I don't receive pain is when he's in control or not talking to me. Sarah you have to understand, he's going to do everything in his power to whittle you down so you'll give up your control."

Sarah looked at him with despair, to think that all that was said was nothing more than a trick was devious, Dark Moon had nearly succeeded just like that. However, when she heard a sniff she saw that Moon was in tears.

"I'm sorry." he said through tears. "I knew you wouldn't be ready for something like this, but I still told you anyways...I just thought that maybe...just maybe...that'd make him stop."

Sarah drew him into a hug. "It's alright," she whispered softly. "Calm down Moon, everything will be okay...now that I know this...I won't ever leave your side, no matter what he says."

"Sarah, you can't do that forever...I can't force you too nor would I ever want you to. He's sneaky, he's dangerous, most importantly, he's a nightmare, my nightmare."

Sarah hugged him tighter. "I know...but I want to help you, help you stop the pain, the suffering, the torture you go through...I'll stand by your side. No matter what happens."

Moon rubbed his eyes, "Thanks Sarah, you are the greatest thing to ever happen to me!"

Sarah blushed, "Thanks Moon."

Their were loud shouts in the distance, the two walked back outside on the balcony into Threed's cold weather to see multiple people around the Zombie Relief Corps tent.

"I can't believe it worked, those kids actually did it!" a man shouted. "They captured the Zombies, even those two crazy ones that always hang out to North of the cemetery!"

Sarah looked at Moon with joy, "It worked, we can get to that northern outlet now!" she said. "Let's wake Erick up and get going!" Moon nodded.

"You do that, I just wanna...think for a bit." Sarah nodded and left him outside.

Moon made sure the glass door had slid shut before speaking to himself.

"That was low Dark, even for you!" he said quietly

_"Hey, you knew what a battle this was gonna be Moon, too bad all your thoughts go straight to me, I've seen how much you care about her...it'd be a damn shame if something...happened...to her."_

Moon shook his head, despite what he was hearing from Dark Moon, he wasn't at all concerned, Sarah was never leaving his side. He stared up into the sky, the dark clouds moved past a sluggish rate.

_"You know, this whole thing reminds of a certain time long ago...so very long ago! With a certain someone...what was her name again?"_

Moon flinched.

"You wouldn't dare." he muttered.

_"Heh, of course not, compared to Sarah, Olive is a..."_

Moon cleared his thoughts of everything. "Dirty little piece of crap." he muttered. He pushed thoughts of that away for a reason. He sighed to himself, "I know eventually we'll visit my family in Onett...once there they'll probably find out I'm friendless, but that...they can't ever learn about that...not ever."

"Moon...you good buddy?"

He turned around to see Erick next to him.

"You've been staring into space for quite some time."Moon shook his head. "Yeah I'm good...let's get going." he said.

**Well that was eventful, this chapter honestly took me a bit longer than I would've liked to finished but I'm proud of the way it turned out. Also probably caught all of you off guard with Rollin Beta most people save it for Belch, but I felt like this was more appropriate.**

**As for giving the tent shadow hands, my inspiration was kind of my imagination from when I was younger. I thought the tent also grew arms when it transformed but it doesn't, silly me.**

**Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, if you have any suggestions or want to tell me what you liked I'd be happy to hear it. Next up on my to write list everybody's favorite cute little shield breakers from smash the ****Mr. Saturns!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Valley of Saturns.**

The trio arrived back at the graveyard entrance they had seen earlier. "I wonder just how many people are buried here." Sarah said looking around. They walked past a grave in the north only to be stopped by music.

"Fantastic." Moon groaned as the photoman landed on the ground in front of them.

"Just go along with it." Erick said to the two of them. He gave a thumbs up and smiled brightly. Sarah felt Moon put a hand around her. The three smiled as the camera man took a photo.

"Ah you two can smile!" the photoman said. "Great to know you'll be posing for all your pictures from here on out! Because wow! What great photograph, It'll always bring back the fondest of memories." with that the photoman vanished.

"I wonder what's so special about this gravestone to make him want to take a photo." Sarah said looking at the grave.

Erick examined the gravestone closely. "Well it says here it belongs to a Mr. Satoru Iwata. The description says he was a great man and an idol to everyone."

The three continued onwards, they eventually came to a opening in the ground with a ladder. Moon looked down, he couldn't see much except for a bit of light off in the distance. "You two stay here, I'll head down first, I'll call you down when the coast is clear." he said. He climbed down the ladder swiftly and when his feet touched the ground he glanced around nervously, he could see a dimly it tunnel in the distance, but on the bright side, no sign of anything.

"Alright it's safe to come down!" he called. He was met with Sarah's response.

"Moon, I know we are dating but I swear, if you look up my dress when I come down I will beat you to hell!" she shouted. Moon shook his head laughing to himself before looking away.

A moment later he felt a tap on his shoulder letting him know that Sarah was next to him. He turned to her. "You know I wouldn't do that, there was no need for you to shout." he said innocently. Sarah playfully slapped him.

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to remind you."

Erick climbed down the ladder a moment later a hopped off next to them. The three began their trek through the tunnel, they came to an opening with a casket on the ground.

A ton of Zombies climbed out of the ground, alongside a dog with blue rotten flesh, blood red eyes, and a piece of bone. They made swipes towards the three of them. "PSI Fire α!" Sarah shouted. Fire surrounded the zombies burning and peeling their pale skin. However, the dog simply jumped through it without a care in the world.

"Sarah, the dog is resisted towards fire...try freezing it!" Erick said observing the dogs movements. Before she could Moon quickly whacked the zombie dog aside with his bat. The dog it a wall and collapsed onto the ground.

Moon walked over to the casket, and heaved it open. "Um Moon isn't grave looting illegal?" Erick asked.

Moon withdrew a silver bracelet out of the casket. "Only if there's a body in the casket, I don't see a body therefore, this doesn't belong to anyone." he said tossing it to Sarah who removed her copper bracelet in favor of the silver one. Erick facepalmed.

The three arrived at the end of the trail where a smallish pile of barf was waiting. Then eyes poped out of the barf and a mouth grew as well.

"HPHM!" Erick gagged. "That's...really, really, disgusting...why the heck are there EYEBALLS!"

"We literally just fought a demonic tent with wolfish fangs, and this is what surprises you?" Moon asked.

The small puddle of barf opened its mouth to speak. "Since you had fly honey, I considered you a friend...I can smell it in your backpack." it said.

"Great." Moon said. "Could you maybe let us through then?"

"Nope, you're actually just a commoner!" it said. "I am the mortal enemy of your kind! FEAR ME!" the puke pile jumped up and splattered itself everywhere.

"SHIELD α!" Moon shouted. The light barrier sprung up in front of them shielding them from the puke splatter. The pile of puke then spit out some sort of slime-like goo at them. The goo shot through the shield and hit Erick.

Erick felt his whole body just turn cold he froze in place. "Sarah, Moon...that slime it shoots out is body solidifying, don't let it hit you." he said warningly.

"PSI Freeze β!" Sarah shouted. The pile of puke was frozen solid. However, the ice immediately shattered. The puke piled the let out an exhaust breath. Sarah suddenly found herself crying.

"Moon, look out." Erick said watching Sarah. "It's breath is like tear gas!" Moon nodded in response.

"PSI Rollin β!" he shouted. The multi-colored beams of light hit the pile of puke, it didn't take it out though.

Erick finally found himself able to move. "Moon, the puke pile is most likely weak against fire, we need Sarah to burn it."

"PSI Fire α!" Sarah shouted. The flames missed the pile of puke by mere inches. "I'm sorry guys." she said. "I can't see anything because of my tears and I can't make them stop!"

"Alright looks like I've gotta deal with this myself." Erick said to himself. He quickly set up another bottle rocket and fired it at the puke puddle.

KA-BOOM!

An explosion went off around the puke pile. However, it still stood firm. "Moon we really need Sarah to burn this thing, try to get her to aim at the puke." he said shooting the pile with his laser.

Moon ran over to Sarah, something inside him was tickling he hoped whatever it was could stop her uncontrollable crying. He concentrated on Healing β, his hand flashed bright blue light and Sarah's tears instantly stopped.

Sarah gathered her senses aimed at the puddle who was distracted by Erick and shouted.

"PSI FIRE β!"

A large amount of fire erupted out of her hand and burned the puke pile to a crisp.

"NO!" The puddle shouted as it was engulfed in flames. "I wanted to get your fly honey and gulp it down. Master Belch and I love fly honey, we've been sending the zombies to Threed so we could make more and more!" Was all it got out before being burned to nothingness.

The three breathed a sigh of relief. "Well now we know where all the zombies are coming from." Erick said. "Perhaps if we could stop this Belch thing they'd stop running Threed."

"Alright then, let's keep going then." Moon said grabbing the ladder that the puke pile was guarding. "If we keep going we should be able to find Belch."

**(Grapefruit Falls)**

The three climbed the ladder and exited a cave into a bright valley. The view was quite relaxing and there was a small river flowing through the center of the valley.

"Where are we?" Sarah asked.

Out of nowhere a crocodile ran up to them and swung its sharp tail at them.

"PSI Freeze β!" She shouted. The large beam of ice encapsulated the crocodile. Moon then whacked it with his bat and it shattered to bits

"If I had to guess...I'd say we're in Florida." Erick said.

"Actually you kids are in Grapefruit Falls." A man said. The three turned around to see a chubby man in about his early forties approach them.

"This place is known for its highly unique taste of water." he continued. "If you taste the water that flows in this very river it tastes like grapefruit juice...Anyways, you must have a long tough road ahead of you, do you not?"

"Actually we kind of do." Moon said. "You see we gotta…"

"No, there is no need to explain." the man said interrupting him. "You three must be starving, lucky for you I happen to be carrying stuff to eat." he said pulling out some croissants and calorie sticks.

"Um no thank you, we've got some food with us." Sarah said.

"Please by all means, you can come again...Ah, I just remembered something." the man said. "Just ahead of here is a village with many um...interesting people. You should go there and visit it's quite beautiful and the locals are very friendly. I've heard the place is called Saturn Valley, but it can't be found on any map to my knowledge. Anywho, good luck on your little adventure."

The three set off down the valley. "Hmm, what'd you think?" Erick asked.

"I dunno, seems like this Belch person is hiding out somewhere along this place." Sarah responded. "Maybe he's in Saturn Valley."

"Perhaps we should stop assuming that Belch is a person, he was called master by a pile of puke." Moon said quietly. "Call it a hunch, but something tells me he isn't human. Afterall, a name like Belch, isn't exactly fit of a human."

"Your name begs to differ." Erick said "I've never heard anyone go by the name of Moon."

"Fair enough." Moon replied, "though, it doesn't seem like there's much around here though. Should be an easy trek to Saturn Valley."

Danger!

A few frogs hopped out of the water their bodies were shining in the sunlight. Then they both jumped up and punched each of trio. They hit like a bunch of bricks. Erick fired his laser only for it to basically hit the frog and do nothing. Moon followed suit hitting one with his bat, he was met with a bunch of shaking and ringing emitting through his hands after hitting it.

"Fascinating, it appears that the frogs have some sort of super armour." Erick said as he observed the frogs. "Their bodies appear to made out of solid metal, our normal weapons are helpless against such a foe."

"PSI Fire β!" Sarah shouted. The fire erupted out of her hand and the frogs melted to the ground.

"Unfortunately for them, we have pyromaniac." Erick added.

The three arrived at a cave entrance. Up ahead, they could see a waterfall pounding down on some rocks below. "Doesn't look like there is much left to do other than go this way." Sarah said. "This cave must lead to Saturn Valley. Let's get going."

**(Saturn Valley)**

The three arrived in an enclosed village. Upon arrival they were greeted by a very cute looking creature. Its legs were attached to a horseshoe round face with a big round nose some whiskers and a red bow tied into its one piece of hair. Sarah eagearly grabbed one and held it up.

"Aw aren't you just the cutest little thing in the world." she said with a babying voice. The little creature responded back.

"We feel groove! Hi ho, me Mr. Saturn. This place all are Mr. Saturn!" it said.

Erick only watched in shock as Sarah danced around with the Mr. Saturn in her hands, he turned to Moon, "You can't be comfortable with this, these things could be under Giygas' control." he whispered.

Moon was simply watching Sarah happily dance around holding the adorable little creature in her hands. "I highly doubt it." he said quietly. "These creatures seem incapable of bringing harm to anyone...they're much to friendly...plus there isn't an ounce of dark energy anywhere in this place." Erick facepalmed.

"You just don't want to upset her do you by telling her that we have to hurt these things, correct?" Erick asked.

"No Erick, I genuinely believe that these creatures are physically incapable of any sort of negative activity...not a single dark thought is going through that things mind..and it's not like it's trying to stop me either." Moon responded.

"Whoa whoa whoa, back up a second. You have telepathy?" Erick interrupted.

"I thought you were a genius, didn't Sarah and I literally tell you that we could communicate with you telepathically?"

"There's a difference between being able to read ones thoughts, and communicate with one through the mind." Erick responded. "Anyways, you should probably make Sarah put that one down before…"

"Moon please can we keep one?" Sarah begged, Erick facepalmed again. "It's so cute and cuddly, it's like an alive teddy bear!" She gave him puppy dog eyes, much to his dismay, the Mr. Saturn also was giving him a similar look.

Moon sighed, "Sarah, we can't keep one with us, it could get killed by one of Giygas' cronies."

The look of realization on Sarah's face relieved him partially. He still felt bad by saying no to her. "But...I guess...as long as we are still in the valley, it can stay with us if it wants."

Sarah lit up at those words. "Hurray! Now let's explore this valley!"

"Although there is something strange." Erick said as he looked around. "That Belch person that the puke was talking about, where is he?"

The Mr. Saturn in Sarah's arms started to shake. "Scary, Scary guy, Boing!" it said. "Grapefruit Falls! Scary, sick, barfy! Go and la la la, ding, Scary!"The three were caught by surprise. Sarah glanced nervously at the Mr. Saturn in her arms. Moon nodded towards her, "Just ask him Sarah, see if he knows anything."

Sarah looked the Mr. Saturn in the eyes. "You know Belch?...where's his base?" she asked politely.

"Base secret. Base behind Grapefruit Falls." the Mr. Saturn said shakily, "Password? I tell. Belch man say "Say Password." stand still, wait for three minutes."

"How do you know this?" Erick asked.

"Once upon a time, we were many, many. Everyday, slowly are less, less. Why? Hmm….Boing!" the Mr. Saturn responded.

Sarah's face turned from worry to anger in less five seconds. "That evil bastard!" she shouted. Moon flinched. Out of nowhere he felt the tiniest amount of dark energy around her. "These poor innocent creatures are being captured by that...that...thing! And being forced to do who knows what...or even worse." she continued. "Don't worry Mr. Saturn...we'll get your friends back."

"Girl nice so...Boing!" Mr. Saturn responded. "But...before go, stop by shop...buy stuff. I take you."

The three followed the Mr. Saturn through a cave and up a ladder to another building. There were two Mr. Saturns around a few tables with a bunch of items scattered about.

"Hi hi hi!" another Mr. Saturn said when they entered through the door. "You come buying? You can sell too? I, Mr. Saturn. Boing, can do all for you...what do you want zoom?"

Sarah's eyes fell on the charms and silver bracelets on the table. She tapped Moon on the shoulder and pointed to them. Moon nodded his understanding and bought them for him and Erick. Then they sold the copper bracelets and travel charms that they were wearing.

"Is there anything zoom else need?" the Mr. Saturn asked.

Moon's eyes fell on a picture postcard that was laying on the table. "Um sure, I'll take this as well." he said. "I'll send this via Escargo Express to my family next time we call them...let them know I'm alright."

"Thank you Boing." the Mr. Saturn said.

The three exited the shop and walked back towards the cave they had come through. Sarah noted however, as they walked through the cave that Moon was looking at her with relative concern. She wasn't sure why he was concerned about her but she wasn't going to ask him at the moment.

Once they arrived back at waterfall outlet they set off towards the waterfall itself. Just as they reached it the familiar photo melody began to play. The photoman landed behind them and readied his camera. "Pictures taken instantaneously, I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself alright, get ready for an instant memory, look at the camera. Ready? Say Fuzzy Pickles!"

Moon shook his head before wrapping his arm around Sarah and holding up a V shape with his fingers smiling brightly. The camera flashed.

"Wow what a great photograph it will always bring back the fondest of memories." with that the photoman vanished out of sight.

The three walked behind the waterfall, there was a large open area cut off behind the waterfall and a metal door in the center. Sarah knocked on the door and a camera popped up with a microphone. "Say the password!" a robotic voice said to them.

"Say password." Moon responded.

The camera watched them. "That's right, we're supposed to wait." Sarah said. "Let's just sit down and wait for this to end."

She made a motion to sit down with Moon who reluctantly sat down next her. Sarah grew a bit nervous, but he didn't say anything to her. Instead he just sat down and withdrew the postcard he had bought...what caught her by surprise was that he had bought two. What was the deal with that? Then he pulled a pen out of his backpack and began to write.

Sarah leaned over, put her head on his shoulder, and watched as he wrote a letter to his mother and sister on the back of the postcard.

_Mom, Tracy._

_Hey, I hope you two are doing well. I'm sure people have noticed by now that I'm not around anymore. I'm sure they're all feeling the same way. I hope Pokey hasn't been much of a hassle, kind of got fired from being his bodyguard...not that I'm complaining._

_Anyways, everything is going just great with Sarah, you all are going to love her for sure. She is definitely the best thing that's happened to me...but I'm sure you knew that already. Also we met a third friend. Erick Andonuts, the son of the world renowned scientist Dr. Lloyd Andonuts. I know I can barely believe it myself. I'd love for you to meet them, but I'm holding out until we meet our fourth and final friend. _

_I hope things have improved for you since I left Tracy. I know for a fact that everyone will be delighted to hear the news._

_Moon_

Sarah frowned to herself. Something about that last sentence felt uneasy to her. "What's wrong with Tracy?" she asked. Moon flinched.

"Um, she wasn't too thrilled when I told her I was leaving." he responded. This was a complete lie, as Moon's sister, Tracy was often times an outcast at school because of...the incident. She did have luck in finding a friend in Picky and another girl at school...but that still didn't change the fact that no one else liked her because of him. In fact, Moon remember a very fond time when Tracy had come home from school bleeding in way too many places, and in tears because an older student said that she was...um...a rather offensive term, then proceeded to call her evil and then shoved her off the playground slide in front of her classmates.

Anyways, this moment was special because it was the first time in nearly three years that Moon had given his darker side control willingly. Moon could easily tap into Dark Moon's own memories as they were locked in his own mind...but he stayed clear from there usually, he didn't like seeing what his darker side did to people. This time however, he did watch it. Much to his surprise, his darker side went easy on the kid.

Well, if he was being honest, going easy didn't say to much. A bit of harsh language, and cornering the child on his way home from school, and then threatening to do far worse if he didn't apologize to Tracy and tell the whole school that he had done what he did because Tracy asked to be his partner in a project and all his friends teased him for it and his parents told him they would rather have Satan as his partner instead not the disgusting...offensive term that the kid has used on Tracy. Moon had a skill in making up semi-reasonable lies and excuses. Of course that skill transferred to his dark side for better or worse

As you can probably expect, the family's reputation was absolutely annihilated. Both parents were fired from their jobs, the kid was expelled from school, and they were eventually forced to move out.

_"Ah yes, that was a fun night for me."_

Moon ignored him, he glanced to his side seeing Sarah resting her head peacefully on his shoulder. However, there was something bothering him, while small, he could still sense dark energy around her.

_"What's that? You fear something has happened to your little guardian angel?"_

Moon blinked in realization. He wasn't an idiot, ten years of having Dark Moon in his mind had made him very aware. He knew exactly what to do. "What the hell did you do to her last night?" he grunted.

_"Well, not much honestly, I tried to wake her up by whispering into her ear, touching her, and then giving her passionate kiss on the forehead...I think she believes that my lips were my fingers."_

"YOU DID WHAT!"

_"Heh, yeah, I did, that sweet little kiss I gave her, it must've accidently transferred a bit of me into her...I'd imagine that energy is getting used to its new host...say goodbye to your guardian angel...jerk."_

Moon knew that this was no joke...Dark Moon was one thing, but if Sarah wasn't prepared for a supposed Dark Sarah, the whole world could be in danger. He quickly glanced at Sarah, she was resting peacefully on his shoulder. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't bother her, but this was different he needed her attention, now.

"Sarah." he whispered with a semi-cold tone. Sarah flinched, he had startled her.

"Moon…" Moon covered her mouth with his hand.

"He's not in control, don't worry." he whispered calmly. "But, you're in danger. Tonight, promise me that you won't fall asleep until I've talked to you privately...this is very, very important...do you understand?" Sarah looked at him with worry, but she nodded in response.

"Okay you may enter." the computer voice said. They heard a click and the door swung open.

"Finally!" Erick groaned as they got up off the floor. He watched, as Moon put the postcard back in his backpack and took Sarah's hand. The three entered into the factory.

The inside of the factory was damp, dim, and very smelly. There was what they hoped was slime all over the walls and the second the door had creaked shut a piece of barf slithered up to them.

"Did you bring some fly honey?" it asked. "It's master Belch's favorite."

Moon hesitated. He had fly honey in his backpack, but if they lost it, he had a feeling there'd be no way out of this place. "Um, no we don't" he responded.

"Then why are you here?" the barf pile snapped

"To free the Mr. Saturns that you've so wrongly enslaved." Sarah shouted. "NOW DIE!" she swung her frying pan at the barf pile splattering it all over the ground. Moon looked at her with worry, the dark energy around her was getting stronger...which was worrying him.

A bunch of little pink spheres ran up to them. "Halt" one of them beeped. "This is a private work zone for our Mr. Saturn slaves please evacu-"

"OFFENSE UP α!" Sarah roared. Her body was surrounded by red light then with one swing from her frying pan, she hit the pink creature into the other nine like a bowling ball into the pins.

Moon noticed that Erick was looking at Sarah with particular concern. To avoid any sort of conflict, he was going to need Sarah to calm down, he needed her to take her mind off the Mr. Saturns

He quickly grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes with his best impression of a cold stare. Sarah looked at him and opened her mouth to say something before he cut her off.

"Calm down Sarah." he said firmly. "I know you're mad about what these things are doing to the Mr. Saturns, but you've got to calm down...you might alert everyone in here that there are now intruders...and that would be really, really bad." Sarah frowned.

Erick walked behind both of them as they continued onwards through the factory. "Very peculiar." he said to himself as he watched Moon and Sarah. "Moon seems to be quite worried about Sarah's sudden...change in behavior...hmmm." he wasn't sure what to make of this, but he wasn't going to do anything about it.

As the three continued onwards they passed by two Mr. Saturns chained to heavyweight iron cannonballs by conveyor belts with jars of fly honey moving by Moon instantly felt the dark energy around Sarah increase. In response he squeezed her hand.

"Relax." he hissed. "Calm down, if you don't I'll be forced to let Dark Moon take control of this situation to calm you down."

Sarah flinched. Moon wanted her to calm down so badly he was willing to unleash his darker, more destructive side on the entirety of this factory. She didn't believe that he would actually be serious, however when she looked at him in shock, the dead look in his eyes told her otherwise. Whatever was going on with her, it couldn't be good if he wanted his darker side in control.

Moon could tell it had worked, the dark energy around her decreased significantly and he relaxed his grip on her hand.

The two arrived at a back door in the factory. Moon made a motion to open it when Sarah held him back. "Moon, Erick's not here." she said with worry.

"Sorry, sorry." Erick said running over to them with another laser gun in his hand. "I saw a broken laser on the conveyor belt and wanted to grab it to maybe fix later...I also shot the chains holding the Mr. Saturns in place and they ran free." Sarah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alrighty then." Moon said turning to the door. "This is probably where Belch is hiding out. Let's kick this thing's butt, and free the Mr. Saturns...you two ready?" they both nodded in response. Moon pushed the door open to be met with the most hideous sight human history.

**That's all for today's chapter, I was originally going to end it after the Belch fight, but something came up and I thought that ending it here would be a good stopping point. Unfortunately final exams are taking place next week so I may not have time to get chapter 13 up.**

**Anyways, I want to clear a few things up. Yes, Dark Moon is also The Mani Mani statue, otherwise known as Ness's Nightmare. With that being said this is where I'm going to start drifting away from typical Earthbound retellings. **

**This story functions as two things. One, an Earthbound retelling, and Two, the prequel to my first story. While we are only in the beginning fazes, this story will not end after Giygas's defeat. **

**Things from my first story will be making an appearance in later parts of the story. Such as the Demonrift, PK Hydro and PK Earth (two psi powers for Moon). And yes, I will be swapping Moon's weapon to a "special" type of sword. I have a whole lore that I'm building up for a project to come after I finish my retelling. **

**As such, I felt the need to cut you off right here and say that I have a canon lore that I've preplaced out for myself. You won't need to have read my first story to understand anything. **

**In fact, I highly recommend that you don't read it, I wasn't planning on having a lore set up originally and as such a lot was altered midway through the story. (Plus my writing was absolutely horrible). I plan to rewrite that story long after my next project is finished.**

**So with that there's one last thing I want to bring up. Dark Sarah is strictly for my lore. She will not play as big a role as Dark Moon. But um, they will play a pretty big role in the future. Let's just say my interpretation of the Nightmare statue is a bit...different. **

**Anyways thanks for reading these extremely long notes. I hope this doesn't disappoint any of you who were expecting some sort of simple retelling. **

**Also forewarning, that letter, along with the second post card, and a certain event from last chapter. Keep those in the back of your mind. They'll be important later.**

**Anyways thanks for reading this incredibly long explanation. I'll see you in the next chapter. And if you want, I wouldn't mind if you let me know your thoughts on my um...lore. Because I'm sure that this has changed your view on my story.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Darkened Hearts**

The inside of the room reeked a combination of sweat, mold, puke, and worst of all fly honey. In the very back of the room sat a pile of green puke with wolfish fangs and bulging black eyes. He also had an evil glare in his eyes as they approached him.

"So you are Moon?" the pile of puke burped as they approached. "I suppose that'd make you two Sarah and Erick." he added looking at the two of them. The trio didn't speak, they just stood still and waited. None of them dared to inch any closer to disgusting being that sat in front of them.

"I see then." the puke pile chuckled. "There is a prophecy that says that Master Giygas will be defeated by a boy...heh...you make me laugh so hard. If Master Giygas is scared of someone, he would have to be worse than the greatest evil. You three are nothing more than mere children. I'm an unstoppable being of nastiness. There is nothing you can do to me."

"Well this guy seems very egotistical" Erick muttered.

"I'll take you down big time, so get ready for the worst fight of your life!"

"PSI Freeze β!" Sarah shouted. The beam of ice shot out of her hand and encapsulated Belch. However he quickly made the ice prison shatter. Belch then upchucked a bit of himself. Moon quickly jumped in front of Sarah.

"Shield ⍺!" He shouted. A wall of light protected them from the upchucked puke.

"I doubt physical attacks like your bat and frying pan will do much too Belch." Erick said. "Strange though, your cyrokinesis should've done more to him...it's like he's...invincible."

"PSI Fire β!" Sarah shouted. Belch was partially hit with a bit of fire, it didn't seem to hurt that much as well.

Moon looked at Erick as a piece of puke hit the shield with immense force. "Okay genius, figure something out." he grunted. "He appears to immune to both Freeze and Fire, I can't use Rollin without putting the shield down, and he's not gonna take much damage from our weapons.

"Doesn't Sarah have electrokinesis?" Erick asked. "Maybe the shock of electricity would allow us to fry him."

"PSI Thunder ⍺!" Sarah shouted. A bolt of lightning struck Belch in center. Once again, it didn't do much to Belch. Moon felt Sarah's dark energy increase again. He knew that if they didn't put a stop to this battle soon, a potential Dark Sarah would probably jump in. Then an idea came to him.

"Dark Moon...you got an idea?"

_"Yeah right, like I'm gonna help you when I'm a good ten minutes away from getting myself a girlfriend...together we'll be a nasty evil couple, nastier than that damn fly honey that's in your backpack."_

Moon lit up. "Erick, set up the big bottle rocket you have...I've got an idea."

Belch exhaled some stinky breath. It enveloped Sarah's body and she started to wobble around with a green face. "Moon...I...I don't feel so...HPHM!" then she puked all over the floor. Erick looked at her through the corner of his eyes as he set up the bottle rocket.

"Moon...she's nauseous don't let her use her pyro-."

"P-p-PSI F-f-fire β!" Sarah coughed. A ring of fire erupted off her hand, hitting Moon in the chest.

"Sarah, stop using PSI!" Moon shouted, "Please just stay where you are!"

"O-okay." Sarah said.

"Hey Belch! Head's up!" Moon shouted throwing the jar of fly honey.

Belch turned around as the jar splattered on the floor. "I-is that...fly honey?" Belch asked.

Moon chuckled. "You better believe it."

"YOU FOOLS! Do you know how...how...delicious fly honey is?" Then Belch whipped out a barfy tongue and started licking the fly honey off the floor.

"Okay that's disgusting." Erick groaned. "Anyways, bottle rocket's ready Moon...we should probably get outta here."

The bottle rocket flew off it's coarse and into Belch's mouth. "Oh crap, that's not good." Erick shouted.

"What's not good?" Moon asked as he used healing beta on Sarah.

KA-BOOM!

A huge explosion went off sending Belch everywhere! Puke splattered all over the trio drenching them in green, smelly, slime.

"Well...isn't this repulsive." Erick snapped. "Some idea that was Moon."

"Hey, he didn't expect it to go into the things mouth!" Sarah snapped back.

Moon looked around, a small puddle of puke remained on the floor with belch's face.

"Looks like it was an even fight." Belch burped. "But, Master Giygas has managed to get the Mani Mani statue into Fourside. The city shall soon be in worse condition than living in your own puke!"

Sarah promptly whacked the small pile of puke with her frying pan. "You are a dirty, stinky, ugly, monster for what you've done to the Mr. Saturns." she snapped. "I'm glad we've dealt with someone like you."

The puke puddle laughed. "Oh is that so Sarah?" Belch asked. "Mark my words, I'll have my revenge...it's only a matter of time...actually, maybe I won't, you seem to be lacking something. You'll never finish your adventure together, and even if you do, you don't realize that every step you take you walk closer and closer to becoming just like him!" Moon had heard enough and stepped on the puke puddle moving his foot all over it.

Erick looked at them skeptically. "Should we be concerned about what he said?" he asked.

"I doubt it." Sarah said with a harsh tone. Moon felt her dark energy practically at its breaking point...if just one more thing went wrong...it'd be game over.

Sarah noticed Moon looking at her with worry. She wasn't sure what the deal was, he had been really nervous and a little harsh ever since Saturn Valley. "Am I doing something wrong?" she asked herself.

_"I think he doesn't love you anymore!"_

Sarah blinked and began to look all around. She had heard a sudden cold voice talking to her from somewhere, but she couldn't figure out where. When her eyes caught Moon's she noticed that his worried expression now looked liked more of a panicky one. He grabbed her hand, wrapped his other arm around her, and forced her closer to him.

"You've gotta relax Sarah." he hissed, his breath tickled her ear. "Please...relax...just stop thinking...you have to...do you understand?"

Sarah could only look at him with shock, she had thought that she was calm but he disagreed. While his eyes showed concern, his tone along with his grip screamed forcefulness. She didn't understand what the deal was and it was making her really, really nervous.

"Blarg." Erick groaned snapping both of them back to reality. "Guys, can we please get going so we can wash this repulsive odor and disgusting grime off of us!"

The two of them nodded. Erick looked at both of them with a hint of irritation, "You two have been acting really weird since Saturn Valley...care to explain?" he snapped.

Sarah hesitated and looked at Moon nervously. She wasn't sure how to explain this to him.

"We've been getting strange power senses since we arrived in Saturn Valley." Moon said out of nowhere. "I believe that we may be near another sanctuary."

Erick's expression changed. "Oh, okay then," he said. "Sorry about that, it's a little unfortunate that I don't have powers...makes it pretty hard for me to...you know...follow suit."

"Don't worry about it too much Erick," Moon said. "Having someone like you around might help us understand just how our powers work...they seem to get stronger at some times but weaker at others."

The trio walked down the cave system that Belch had been guarding and exited on a hillside in Saturn Valley. There were a few Mr. Saturns huddle around a tree stump with some drinks on it. To their left was a cave along with what looked like a giant pool of strawberry milkshake. The Mr. Saturns looked at the three of them standing there covered in puke and who knows what else. Their big round noses wrinkled at the smell of the chosen heroes.

"You nasty...enjoy bath...wash yucky stuff from body Boing!" One Mr. Saturn said hopping towards the pink water hole.

"Fascinating." Erick said looking at the pink liquid. "It's like water...but at the same time...the smell, look, and just about everything else make it...well...not water. Though this could be something toxic to humans, I must gather a sample to…"

"Moon don't you dar-EEK!"

SPLASH!

Moon pushed Sarah into the pink liquid then jumped in right next to her. Erick facepalmed. "Or...you two could just jump into what could've been a pool of acid without a care in the world for each other's safety." he muttered as the two began to splash each other. He stepped into the spring as well. Surprisingly, the liquid didn't soak him it was almost like it...wasn't water, it just began to wash away all of the grime and scum on their bodies.

One Mr. Saturn walked over to the edge of the pool with a cup on its head. "Drink coffee before go?" it asked.

"Eh...no thanks...not really a coffee person." Moon said.

"You drink please...I work long long time on drink...for you...as thanks...drink please." the Mr. Saturn responded.

"Just drink it Moon." Sarah said. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Moon hesitantly took the cup from the creature and took a sip out of it. Instantly he felt everything fade into nothingness. It was just a bright blue wall in front of him. Then out of nowhere. Words started to appear in front of him on the wall.

_You've traveled very far from home…_

_Do you remember how your long and winding journey began with someone pounding at your door? It was Pokey, the worst person in your neighborhood, who knocked on the door that fateful night._

Moon stared at the wall with interest, this whole thing seemed very cool and relaxing but yet...at the same time, very creepy...who was talking to him?

_On your way, you have walked, fought, but probably most importantly you've thought...about your future...and what it holds. Yet through all this, you have never lost your courage. You have steadily grown stronger, though you have experienced the pain of battle many times._

Moon blinked, suddenly the words were replaced by Sarah and Erick on both ends of the wall as more words appeared.

_You are however, no longer alone in your adventure. For the first time, you've got friends to help you deal with your problems. Sarah, who is steadfast, caring, kind, and even pretty, is always by your side. Heck you two are more than what was expected._

_Then there is Erick, he is with you as well. Though not as powerful, he possess great wisdom and knowledge. He came from a distant land just to help rescue you._

_But of course, there is one other, your last friend awaits you...in due time you shall meet Dyson._

The image of a boy with an almost bald head, save for a long, black, braided ponytail in the center now shone in front of him. He had emerald green eyes and wore a karate outfit.

_Moon, as you certainly know by now, you are not a regular young man...You have an awesome destiny to fulfill. However, there is still some knowledge that you lack. Your connection with the enemy is much deeper than you think._

Moon rubbed the back of his head. It had suddenly had a stinging pain to it.

_The journey from this point will be long, and it will be more difficult than anything you have undergone to this point. Yet, I know you will be alright. When good battles evil, which side to you believe wins? Do you have faith that good is triumphant?_

Moon shrugged to himself. Faith was something he'd rather not touch upon, after all, faith is what ended him up with Dark Moon. But then again, it did also end him with Sarah.

_One thing you must never lose is courage. If you believe in the goal you are striving for, you will be courageous. There are many difficult times ahead, but you must keep your sense of humor, work through tough situations and enjoy yourself._

Moon could only stare at the wall in confusion.

Once you have finished this cup of coffee, which is allowing you to see this message, your adventure will begin again. Next, you must pass through a vast desert and proceed to the big city of Fourside.

_Moon, Sarah, Erick, and soon enough, Dyson._

_I wish you good luck._

Moon was snapped back to reality. He was still sitting in the strawberry pool with Sarah and Erick who were giving him a look of confusion.

"Are you okay Moon?" Erick asked. "You've been spaced out for quite some time now."

Moon shook his head, "Uh...yeah I'm fine...just suddenly got another vision...we need to go to Fourside after we find that other sanctuary."

Sarah looked upwards, the sun was setting just about now. "Maybe we should just...call it a day." she said quickly. "We can check out that cave tomorrow." the boys nodded in agreement.

**(Later that night)**

Erick stayed up way later than Moon would've liked, his tampering with the new gun he had found took up a good hour of rest time and he desperately needed Sarah awake. Once he had heard the quiet breathing of the genius he took Sarah's hand and led her up a ladder onto the roof of the Mr. Saturn's house they were staying in. When they had sat down in silence for a moment Sarah finally asked the question.

"So...Moon...I want to know what's gotten into you...you said I'm in danger tonight...why?" she asked nervously. The look of fear in his eyes told her that whatever was about to happen would be far from easy for her to hear.

"Sarah...I-I'm not sure how to tell you this." he said quietly. "But...I have to do it to protect you." Sarah swallowed hard that's when she heard the voice again.

_"He's going to break up with you...why don't you do it first!"_

"Ignore the voice in your head Sarah, listen to me." Moon said grabbing her hand.

Sarah blinked in disbelief. "You could hear the voice too?"

"No, I can't...but I know you've been hearing it...Sarah...I'm so sorry." he said as tears started to flow down him. "But...I accidentally transferred a bit of my dark side into you." he looked down in embarrassment and despair. He had been trying to keep her safe...and now...he had put her, and frankly everyone else, in immense danger. However, when he didn't hear any sort of rage, sadness, or irritation, he glanced up to see Sarah looking at him with worry.

"Y-y-you...what?" Sarah asked in confusion.

"Last night...when Dark Moon was in control...he kissed you on the forehead." Sarah felt her heartbeat get really fast. "And...well, the kiss transferred a bit of him into you...now...you have a Dark Sarah in your brain." he buried his face in his hands. "Sarah...I'm so sorry...I just unleashed something horrible into you...all that pain, suffering, misery...it's going to happen to you too...I can't even bring myself...to...to...look at you."

Sarah stared at him in silence. She didn't know what to think. Or frankly, what to do, it was just so...unnatural. She had no idea about any of this, it was all just...unknown, an empty feeling. She didn't know anything about...whatever this was...she was helpless in providing comfort to him. All she could do was sit there with a brink of crying expression while he sat in front of her, devastated, defeated, confused, and afraid. In all her life, she had never seen someone so upset...and that said way more than you'd think...a friend of hers grandmother passed away a few months ago and she didn't come close to how upset Moon seemed. Even the PSI energy around him felt different...it seemed...weaker."

But, then again...she was intrigued by what had happened. Both Moon and his dark side had told her that she would never be able to understand just what torture Moon went through on daily basis. In some weird, stupid way, this might've actually helped her. The two times she had seen Dark Moon at his worst had left Moon in both immense pain and a complete melting pot of emotions. She wasn't quite sure how to react to them, how to provide comfort or relief to her boyfriend. Maybe having a darker side of her own would help her understand.

"Sarah." Moon's voice got sadder as he spoke. "I'm so sorry...I really, truly am...I would never want to invoke anything like this on you...I promise you if I find a way to get rid of it I-"

Sarah leaned in closer to him, grabbed his hands, and kissed him to make him stop talking. When she separated from him she proceeded to wrap him in a hug. "Moon...here's the thing." she said slowly. "I-I-I actually think...that this might be something...good."

That was a big mistake, Moon instantly pushed her off of him and backed away from her. Sarah didn't understand what had caused him to do that. She attempted to move closer to him only for him to draw back and ask. "Sarah...What did I call Dark Moon last night?"

Sarah looked at him in confusion and worry. He had just broke away from her...for no reason.

"He doesn't care about you...he only cares about his mess...look at him, pushing off your generous hug in a time of despair only to ask you about his problem...some boyfriend."

Moon placed his hand on her shoulder, there were still tears streaming down his cheeks. "Sarah...please...answer the question...ignore her, listen to me...please...I don't want you to be where I am!" he cried.

"Y-y-you...you called him a nightmare...your nightmare." she said nervously. Moon let out a long sigh before moving back closer to her taking her hand once again.

"Thank you for listening to me." he said with his still sad tone. "I was worried I had already lost you to Dark Sarah. Sarah...why on earth would you think that having a dark side be a good thing? You've seen Dark Moon, you've seen the pain I've been in, you've seen how evil he is. Why would you want that?"

Sarah looked at him and then she felt the floodgates in her head break. "I'm sorry." she cried as tears started to flow out of her. "I-I-I just thought that...since I'd never be able to experience the pain you're always in...I've never been able to help comfort you...I thought that maybe having something like this...would help."

Moon swallowed hard. "Y-y-you...think...that it'd be worth waking up in pain every morning, having someone with a mind of pure evil talking to you constantly, random outbursts of rage that end up with you losing who you are...You'd be willing to have that exact same problem...just to help comfort me?" he asked.

Sarah gulped. "Moon...I love you, and it hurts me that I can't understand how hard something is for you." she said tightening her grip on his hand. "I look at you, everyday, I see you in pain, getting tortured, and things that I'd never be able to understand. I just don't know how I'm supposed to help you if I don't know what is truly going on with you. But this...this gives me that opportunity. An opportunity for both of us to learn what the deal is with these darker sides. We can-"

"Sarah...I don't think you understand what this means." Moon interrupted. "Because of what Dark Moon has done, you can't ever have a normal life...you and I are, quite literally, bound by our hearts...we can't ever leave one another, not even after this adventure is over. Your darker side, it's a permanent part of you...no one...not even your own family can control it. Only I can."

"So I'm stuck loving you for the rest of my life." Sarah said. "Big deal, I love you, I always will. So what if I have to transfer schools just so we can be with each oth-"

Moon cut her off. His look of sadness was almost too strong at this point. "Sarah...it's much worse than that...I'm the only one Dark Sarah can't harm...your family, friends, the preschoolers you watch, Erick, and even our fourth friend, they can be. It doesn't matter who it is, if it isn't me, then that person can experience a world of pain. This...this isn't just something that we can just...stop. It's something terrible, something nearly uncontrollable, it's something that we both have to live with...I'm sorry, but there is truly nothing good about this Sarah, you may think that this is good, but you aren't ready for something like this."

Sarah started to feel a prickly pain in her head. "Fight through it." she told herself. "Show him you can do this."

"But you can't do this...he said it himself...you're going to be a cakewalk I can already tell."

The pain in her head got drastically worse. She had a feeling that Moon could tell something was wrong because he was looking at her with worry. "I'm fine Moon." she said quickly. "There's no need to worry...I'm alright." she laid back on the roof watching the night sky. She had to try and take her mind off the immense pain in her head.

Despite her attempts, she didn't stop crying...tears of pain flooded out of her non stop. After a few minutes of silently crying to herself, she felt herself being picked up. Moon was staring at her, as he held her. Then she was moved upwards, he placed her head on his shoulder as he sat back down. He just sat there in silence, holding her as she cried.

"I know it hurts Sarah." he said quietly. "It's alright though, I'm here for you, I won't let go until you want me to okay?"

"Pr-pro-promise." Sarah sniffed. With the amount of pain in her head was in she was stuttering more than usual.

"I promise you Sarah, until you're ready to meet your dark side...I won't let go of you." he said rubbing her back.

"A-a-alright...t-t-thanks."

For about ten minutes the couple sat in silence, Sarah's continuous sniffles of pain still came out occasionally, but she felt much better knowing that Moon was there with her, rubbing her back providing as much comfort to her as he could. Then he started to rub and move his hand upwards. Sarah let out a noise that sounded almost like a pur. He kept going until he reached the tip of her straight, silky, golden hair.

"Be confident." he told himself. "If she doesn't like it she'll let you know. You can't be afraid of messing things up anymore than you already have." he took a deep breath and moved his hand into her hair.

Sarah's body tensed up, it was a strange feeling for her. Her body wanted him to stop...but, it felt so nice and relaxing to have his hand tangled in her hair. So when he removed his hand from her hair out of fear that he had done something wrong, she was less than thrilled.

"M-Moon...p-please put your h-hand back in my hair...it...it...it felt really nice and relaxing." she said softly. "Don't be afraid...I promise I'll stop you if you do something I don't want."

She felt his lips on the top of her head near her blue ribbon. "I'll do anything for you my guardian angel." he said quietly. Sarah felt herself heat up inside. He rubbed the top of her head trailing his hand down her backside entering and stroking her silky smooth hair. "I just can't believe you are actually...in love with me." he said as he stroked her hair. "I can't believe that after all the disasters I've gotten you into...that you still want to be with me." Sarah felt the pain finally settle down after that. In response hugged him tight.

"Don't be silly Moon." she said. "We are truly bound by our hearts, we'll love each other until the end of time itself. Together, you and me will be the perfect duo...we have our whole future to spend with each other...this isn't just some teen romance phase...this is a serious thing!"

Moon smiled to himself. "Well Sarah, now that you've finally settled down." he said. "As much as it pains me to say this...this is where your whole life is about to change...you're going to meet your darker side, and you're going to have to work out an agreement. Just remember, be persistent, she's going to try to hit you with something...just wait until you've whittled it down to just your anger."

Sarah nodded and the two climbed back down the ladder and climbed into the bed they were sharing. "Good luck Sarah." Moon said. "I love you."

**(Mindscape)**

Sarah found herself in the empty voided mindscape once again. She couldn't remember ever being more nervous...what was in store for her? "Moon said be confident." she told herself. "Don't be afraid of...whatever this is."

A shadowy figure suddenly flashed in front of her causing her to flinch. Then, the shadow became a solid image. Sarah found herself face to face with her shadow. It had blood red eyes, wore a black dress and ribbon, and had a psychotic smile.

"Well...hello Sarah. I've been waiting to meet you." the shadow said.

Sarah swallowed, she shadow's voice was like Dark Moon's, cold and heartless.

"Touching, your silence is going to make this fairly easy...I assume my idiot "partial boyfriend" has already prepared you for this...in any event...I guess I shouldn't expect to get anywhere with you." Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. The shadow grinned evilly.

"Well I guess I'll just have to stick to our default agreement." Dark Sarah continued. "As I'm sure Moon has made you aware, if you become too angry, I will step in for you. I already assume that I can't invoke anything more than that...so...I guess we should just get this over with." she outstretched her shadowy hand, blue flames erupted off it.

Sarah only gave her shadow a blank stare. The shadow smiled evilly back. "What…is something wrong?" Dark Sarah asked.

"What, no torture, pain, suffering, talking, misery...nothing?" Sarah asked in disbelief. "You're just getting straight to the point?" After everything Moon had said...she had expected this encounter to be much worse. Dark Sarah shrugged.

"Since Moon has had Dark Moon for nearly ten years, I expect that there really is nothing I can do other than offer you the default deal...if you don't take it then well...I don't have to listen to Moon...sooooo...yeah just hurry up and shake my hand."

Sarah reached for the hand before suddenly stopping. She remembered what Moon had said, these darker sides were sneaky, evil. She looked her darker side in the blood red heartless stare and asked. "This is the deal...I'm in charge, you listen to Moon, and you only step in when I want or when I'm too angry...by shaking your hand that's all your stuck too...correct?"

The flames on the hand of Dark Sarah extinguished. She grinned evilly. "Clever, very clever." her cold voice hissed. "Not shaking my hand when I had never truly told you what exactly we agreed to...any imbecile would've shaken my hand...but you caught me by surprise. Look at your hands sweetheart."

Sarah glanced down at her hand, much to her surprise, it was now the one erupting blue flames. She stared at it in awe. Then she outstretched it to Dark Sarah. "This is my only offer." she said firmly. "I'm not going to fall for any of your dumb tricks."

The shadow took her hand. "You've got yourself a deal girlie." it said. "I look forward to torturing you for the rest of your pathetic life. Mark my words, you'll soon wish you never declared your feelings to Moon."

"Fat chance." Sarah retorted. "There is nothing you can ever do that will make me not love him."

The shadow crackled. "Is that so?" she asked slyly. "Well, I guess you're more braver than I thought. Goodnight Sarah, I shall speak with you again real soon." the shadow then vanished.

**(Twoson)**

Sarah suddenly found herself on the streets of Twoson. Confused, she began to walk down the street. Everything seemed...normal...kind of. People were looking at her with worried expressions, not one person wanted to come up and talk to her, ask her about her powers...nothing of the usual. She looked to her left and saw Moon right next to her. Though, he looked...different. He was holding a sword...a blue blade with a green grip. He also looked more serious than usual.

"Moon?" Sarah asked. He ignored her, and just kept walking. Sarah stepped in front of him only for him to just walk right through her.

"I'm...invisible to his eyes...what...what's going on...is...is this a dream?" she asked. She continued to follow him down the street curious as to what he was doing. She watched him as he approached Polestar Preschool and walked up to the door. Only for his progress to be halted by Everdread.

"Not so fast kid...you're not supposed to be here...Sarah's family has forbidden it." Everdread said.

Sarah's eyes widened, her family...had...forbade him from seeing her. She looked at Moon who showed a severe hint of irritation.

"I was contacted by her to come...I frankly don't give a damn if her parents forbade it...unless they'd rather die, I'm going in, and you aren't stopping me." Moon responded.

Everdread halted him again. "You have been a monster of an influence to her, you've turned this once sweet and kind girl into someone we can't recognize. Her parents don't give a damn about what faith said about you two...I was instructed on her father's request to stop you."

"Hypnosis ⍺!" Moon said without a care in the world. Sarah watched in shock as Everdread collapsed onto the ground. Moon then put his hand on Everdread's back and said. "Paralysis ⍺!" Moon then stared at the door in silence for a bit. Sarah stood next to him. "It was just as she feared." he said quietly.

Suddenly a pink portal opened next to him and Erick walked out of the portal. "You called?" he asked irritably. Moon stood in silence for a bit. "Well, why did you open a portal for me?" Erick snapped. "It'd better be important."

Moon turned to him. "I'm sending you to Dalaam...tell Dyson I've started Operation Darkness."

Erick's eyes widened. "A-a-are you sure?" he asked. "You know what that means."

Moon nodded. "The amount of dark energy I've been sensing is too much for their safety. We have no other option...other than...well."

Sarah blinked...Erick and whoever Dyson was somehow knew about their darker sides...and where exactly was Dalaam? She had never heard of a place like that.

"Alrighty then, I'll inform Dyson of your decision. Just um...try to get out of here quickly...and make sure that...you know your darker sides don't jump in...just out of curiosity...how bad is it?"

Moon gave him a dead stare. "Pretty damn bad...I haven't seen her in three weeks...Dark Moon has been rallying me with nightmares...and when I saw Sarah in the mindscape, she looked severely pale...words can't begin to describe how nightmarish this must be for her without me."

"You've changed Moon...you really have." Erick said. "You used to be so...well...weird...like I always knew you had been more...mature...because of Dark Moon...but...now you're...well...I'm not quite sure...you still show your caring side to Sarah...but...you're just...not you."

"Well aware of that Erick, I had always prepared myself for a day like this one, long before I even met you three...I just never would've thought that it'd be forced upon someone else as well."

"Oh...one last thing." Moon said. "Tell Dyson to be on standby...things might get ugly." A pink portal opened showing Sarah what looked like a grand palace on the other side. Erick walked through the portal and as it closed she saw him look back with a look of concern.

Moon stepped over Everdread's unconscious body and pushed the door open. Sarah could hear muffled shouts and sobs coming from the kitchen. When Moon pushed the door open she saw herself backed into a corner, crying, with both of her parents shouting at her.

"NO...NO...A THOUSAND TIMES HELL NO!" her father shouted. "HE IS NOT ALLOWED TO SEE YOU! WHY THE HELL DID YOU CONTACT HIM?"

Sarah watched herself cry harder. "Y-y-you don't understand." she sobbed. "H-h-he needs to be with me! Y-y-you have to let me see him."

"SARAH DON'T YOU SEE?" her mother shouted. "HE HAS TURNED YOU AGAINST US!"

"H-h-he hasn't!" Sarah cried. "I-I-I am not against you...h-h-he hasn't done anything wrong!"

"THEN WHY HAVE YOU STARTED HURTING YOURSELF?" her father shouted. "YOU'VE BEEN CUTTING, HITTING, AND TORTURING YOURSELF! YOU WERE NEVER LIKE THIS UNTIL YOU MET HIM!" Sarah noticed that the other Sarah's hands had cut marks on them.

"It-it-it's not me dad...and...it's not him either! I swear!" she shouted.

"SARAH YOU HAVE TURNED INTO A LUNATIC! IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF HIM!" her mother shouted. "YOUR FRIENDS HARDLY HANG OUT WITH YOU, THE PRESCHOOLERS ARE SCARED OF YOU, EVERYONE IN THIS TOWN HATES WHAT HE HAS DONE TO YOU!"

"Hypnosis Ω!" Moon shouted. Both of Sarah's parents collapsed onto the ground. Sarah watched him move over to the other Sarah who was still sobbing. "It's alright Sarah." Moon said softly, as he wrapped her in a hug and ran his hand through her hair. "I'm here now...everything will be fine...just stop crying."

"I can't Moon." she sobbed. "She...she...she's hurting me...so much...I keep having nightmares and pain shooting through me...I just feel...so angry...all the time! Now look, my family hates me!" Moon hugged her tighter.

"I know...it's hurting me as well...but it won't for long. Please, get up off the floor, stop crying, and go upstairs and pack your things. Dyson and Erick have been informed that we've started Operation Darkness."

Sarah swallowed. "B-b-but...that means that...we have to."

"I know Sarah, but we have no other choice, your parents are making this too dangerous for everyone...every day they're getting worse...we need to be close to each other, otherwise it's lights out for those we care about."

Sarah watched herself go upstairs in shock. Whatever was going on wasn't good...but.

Suddenly her parents began to stir. Moon obviously didn't seem to care though as he simply moved over to the staircase and blocked it watching them.

Her father and mother both got up. "OH NO! NO NO NO!" Her father shouted. "Sarah is forbidden from seeing you."

"It's not your decision anymore Mr. Polestar." Moon said calmly. "I'm the only one who can protect you...I know what's best."

"I FORBID YOU FROM-"

Moon put the tip of his sword at the brim of her father's chest. "I don't give a damn, Sarah and I both agreed to these conditions!"

"WHAT CONDITIONS?" her mother shouted.

Moon gave him a heartless look that Sarah grew nervous about. "Unbelievable." he said with a firm voice. "I asked her to inform you...but you guys are so ticked off with her for no damn reason that you didn't even bother to listen to your own daughter. No wonder she wanted me to come and get her without letting you know."

"EXCUSE ME?" her father shouted. "YOU ARE NOT TAKING OUR DAUGHTER ANYWHERE!"

"If you had bothered to listen to her, maybe you would know that this is her choice. It's Not mine and it most certainly is not yours. I recommend that you think before you speak considering the situation we are in at the moment."

Sarah watched herself come back downstairs but what stunned her was that she didn't seem bothered by Moon having her father at sword point.

"SARAH TELL YOUR PSYCHO BOYFRIEND TO STOP!" her mother shouted.

Sarah watched herself shake her head. "No, I don't think I will." she said. "If you won't listen to me maybe you'll listen to him."

Moon lowered his sword. "Thank you...now, two rules...number one don't interrupt...number two don't even attempt to grab Sarah...or else."

Sarah was watching this whole thing play out in horror "Please make this nightmare stop." she told herself. She kept trying to wake herself up but it wasn't working.

"Now, let me begin." Moon said. "Sarah has been emitting way too much PSI energy, so have I. As such, we are losing control over them...the injuries that you keep seeing on Sarah and myself are caused by an outside force that we have no control over. The only thing that keeps it in check is well...both of us being together."

"Lies, you are full of lies." her father snarled.

"AS I WAS SAYING!" Moon shouted completely ignoring him. "Because your actions have prevented Sarah and me from seeing each other our outside forces have been torturing us for days on end. Hell, you two should be thankful you aren't dead! I have decided that I can stand for this no more...your lives are in great danger unless Sarah and I can continue to see each other. So with that being said, Sarah is leaving your care effective immediately."

"I'M SORRY...WHAT?" her mother shouted.

BANG!

Several cops jumped through windows pinning Moon to the ground and grabbing Sarah escorting her back to her parents. Her father grabbed her when she tried to break away.

"We got the word from Everdread." one officer said to her father. "Don't worry we'll make sure that he gets sent away for-"

"MOON NO!" Sarah cried basically trying to escape the grasp of her father. "YOU CAN'T HE'S TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!"

"If you don't mind." her father said. "How about you just put an end to this now, we'll vouch for you that he was threatening your officers. Just make sure you shoot him in the heart, he can heal himself if you try anything-"

"STOP THIS PLEASE!" Sarah cried. "HE'S ONLY TRYING TO HEL-"

Her father covered her mouth. "As you can clearly see, my daughter has been brainwashed by this boy and I want him gone...for good."

Sarah watched herself look at Moon there were tears streaming down her cheeks. "Sarah...I'll be alright." Moon said looking her in the eye. "I promise, just stay calm...I love you don't forget that...please don't forget that...just keep that in your head." the officer pinning him down put his gun directly on his back.

Sarah bit her father's hand causing him to uncover her mouth. "MOON NO PLEASE!" She screamed.

Sarah noticed Moon's eyes turned to horror. "SARAH NO!" he shouted.

"PK FIRE Ω!"

A huge blast of fire erupted off her hand in all directions everyone was hit by it and engulfed in flames.

"PK HYDRO!"

A bit of water and steam came from where Moon was as he got up off the ground and moved over to Sarah coughing.

"S-S-Sarah...d-d-do you have any idea what you've just done?" he asked with worry.

Sarah watched herself do absolutely nothing but when she looked around, she saw the absolute worst. The entirety of the room was now in burnt to a crisp...including everyone in it."

A pink portal opened behind them and out popped a boy with an almost completely bald head save for a black braided ponytail down the center of. He wore a cloak alongside what looked like a samurai helmet and two bracers on his arms. He also carried a silver bladed sword. His emerald green eyes which for a moment were sparkling were now staring at two of them in shock and horror.

"Erick said it was bad." he said in shock. "But…"

"Forget it Dyson." Moon snapped. "There's nothing we can do except get Sarah out of here."

"M-m-Moon." Sarah said shakily.

"Not now Sarah, We have to get out of here."

With that the entire image faded in a flash of pink light.

**(Reality)**

Sarah bolted awake. She was now sitting upright in the bed in Saturn Valley house. She had a splitting headache. She looked around, Moon was already awake and was actually sitting down by his backpack with the picture postcard he had bought yesterday. He noticed Sarah awake and breathing heavily. "Is everything alright?" he asked. "You don't look so good."

Sarah shook her head. "It-it-it was just a bad dream."

_"Actually...that wasn't a dream...that was the future...your future...a future that I can't wait for."_

Sarah felt her headache get severely worse "M-Moon."

_"You really wanna tell him what you just saw? Damn you really are stupid."_

"Sarah?" Moon asked. "Are...are you sure your okay? You don't look too good, you're shaky, your skin seems pale, and um...you look scared."

"It-it-it hurts Moon...so much...please...make it stop." Sarah cried holding her head. "I-I-I can't take it...please...how do I make her stop?" Moon stood up and sat down next to her.

"Let me talk to her." he said firmly.

"Moon...I don't want to let her out...what if she...what if you...what if Erick..."

"I'll be fine, Erick woke up earlier, he's at the shop getting food."

"A-alright."

Moon watched as her eyes flashed red and her loving stare became cold and heartless.

"You've got ten minutes." Moon snapped. "You know what I want...speak."

Dark Sarah grinned. "Operation Darkness, the future you hope to avoid, it's inevitable, and now, Sarah's seen just a bit of what the future holds for the two of you. She didn't like it too much...the whole time she watched she was terrified." her cold voice hissed.

Moon gave her a dead stare back. "How much does she know about Operation Darkness?"

"Not much honestly, she seems to write the whole thing off as a bad dream. I know for a fact you aren't gonna tell her about it, and I know she's too ignorant to ask you about it. Oh, and don't bother asking me what I showed her, I know I don't have to answer that honestly."

Moon sighed. "Very well then, Sarah, stop."

Sarah blinked, then shook her head. Her eyes became the same loving look he was used to.

"Moon?"

"She didn't want to talk...but at least your pain will be gone for a brief time."

The door to the house swung open and Erick entered into the house. "Lovely weather outside today." he said to the two of them in an upbeat tone. "The Mr. Saturns kindly informed me that the place we are looking for is through that cave we saw near the pool yesterday. It's called Milky Well, it's guarded heavily though, I hope you two are prepared."

Moon nodded. "We are more than prepared Erick, let's get going...Sarah?"

Sarah got up off the bed. "Yes...we must get going...let's claim this third sanctuary and keep going."

Moon reached down to his backpack only to be halted by Dark Moon.

_"So what'd you think...isn't she perfect for me."_

"She's spectacular, a match truly made in hell." Moon muttered.

_"Whatever, so about what you talked about. Operation Darkness, I haven't heard that name in a long time...I think the last time you considered it was when exactly...after...Olive…"_

"I'm warning you Dark, not one word about Olive, my past, or Operation Darkness to Sarah. I don't give a damn if she asks you...you better lie."

_"Why should I."_

"She's not ready, none of them are, plus I can't prove anything to them until we return home."

_"Is that why you bought that second postcard? Damn you really are planning ahead._"

Moon shook his head. "Annoying little piece of crap." he muttered placing the second postcard in a special section of his backpack.

He knew eventually all this would come back and bite him. But frankly, he didn't care, not one bit. Olive was a horrible mistake that he made in the past that nearly cost him everything. He was not going to repeat that mistake with Sarah, it was going to take a long time until they reached that one horrid moment. But it was for the better...he had to do it.

"Don't ever question what you're doing." he told himself. "This is for the better, you're doing it to protect not just her, but also Erick, Dyson, and the rest of the world. It doesn't matter how much it hurts...it doesn't matter how dangerous it is. They aren't ready...more importantly she's not ready...I suspect many sleepless nights for me ahead...but it's for the better."

The words still rang in the back of his mind. _"Don't forget...Don't you ever forget."_

* * *

**Ahem, I have encountered a bit of a problem. When writing this chapter I wasn't sure what I was going to do in terms of Dark Sarah's final role in the story. At first I wasn't going to do much with it just have her appear now, do some shenanigans with Moon and have a few chapters with Sarah getting used to her before putting her away until she was needed again. Now while that plan may have been better suited...I don't think I truly was thinking when coming up with what exactly I was going to have Dark Sarah do. I'm going to be upfront, the dream sequence that played out in front of Sarah was always meant to be here. It was, apart from the Belch fight, the only thing I didn't end up changing from my original draft of this chapter. Everything else was rewritten for a better sounding chapter. **

**Though, I'd think better is kind of an incorrect term. I was told by a friend that this chapter was pretty dark compared to and I quote. "The other encounters with the Dark sides that he'd seen so far." I'm not quite sure what to think of that considering that um...the Mother/Earthbound series is often times called Nintendo's darkest franchise. **

**So, with all that being said, I wanted to ask something. Do you want to see more of Dark Sarah and those future dream sequences? I'll continue writing chapters even if I get no response, just know that I'm only asking because I'm not sure if continuing down the road that I'm heading would end up being a bad idea. I don't know, my current plan for continuing down this path may end up getting a little confusing for some people. As you can probably tell by Moon's interactions with both Dark Moon and Dark Sarah, he's afraid that she'll discover something. My plan was to have these whole future dream sequences build up to Moon's past reveal once we get deeper into the story (By the way, if any of you are theorizing on that, I'd love to hear it, I'd be surprised if someone could piece together everything currently and then keep building off that to figure out the whole thing before it actually happens).**

**Anyways, if you don't want to see more of Dark Sarah that's completely okay. Moon's past play out will still happen in terms of Dark Moon, but again I feel like going in the direction of Sarah would make things a bit confusing despite being my more favored play. Thanks for reading and I'll being working on the next chapter right away. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Bound By Their Hearts**

The trio walked up towards the strawberry liquid pool and entered through the cave tunnel towards the Milky Well they exited on the other side in another valley. There were mushrooms and sprouts everywhere.

"According to the Mr. Saturns, this place is guarded by movement plant life and a species of creatures called...Ranboobs." Erick said ignoring Moon and Sarah's snorts of laughter. "The sanctuary that is located here is apparently a spring of that pink liquid in the pool...either way, just burn everything and we'll be fine." As he spoke a mushroom walked over to them which Erick immediately shot with his laser.

Danger!

A bunch of creatures with spears made of leaves and leafy covered armor surrounded the three of them. "I'm going to assume that these are the Ranboobs." Moon said staring at the creatures. Each of them pointed a spear at the three surrounded in a circle. "Sarah we need you to take care of things."

Sarah had been awfully quiet since this morning...after what she had seen she was worried to continue down the road they were going. "I-I-I killed my parents...but...but why?" she asked herself.

"Sarah?...Sarah snap out of it!" Erick snapped. Sarah just stood there in silence. Moon could tell Erick was getting frustrated with her, he didn't want Erick to start a fight with her, so he had to think of something fast.

"Erick...I think she's feeling a bit uneasy...she told me earlier this morning that she wasn't feeling to well...maybe we should just give her a break for now." Moon said quickly.

Sarah blinked in realization. "Oh...no, no...I'm fine," she said quietly. Her PSI energy felt very weak to Moon, he wasn't sure what the deal was all of a sudden. Sarah now just seemed afraid.

"Psi...Fire β!" she said with hesitation. Very little fire erupted off her fingers. Erick looked at her with severe hint of anger. "Psi Fire β!" she said again. Once again a very small amount of fire erupted off her hands.

Moon quickly stepped in, he needed something to just take care of all the stupid leaf wearing creatures...they were going to have to do this without Sarah's help. He felt something whisper into the back of his mind. He shrugged and shouted. "Hypnosis Ω!" Instantly, all the Ranboobs surrounding them collapsed onto the ground, they had fallen asleep. Erick proceeded to shoot several of them making their leafy bodies scatter about into the wind.

When both boys turned to Sarah they noticed that she had gone pale. Her eyes were full of fear and she started to shake. What concerned them however was the fact that behind her was another Ranboob with his spear pointed at her head.

"SARAH DO SOMETHING!" Moon shouted.

Sarah just stood there...she couldn't feel anything in her...except for pain...shooting, stinging, pain. She was trying her best to fight through it, but no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't get it to stop.

"_It hurts so much doesn't it...you have a way to make it stop...all you gotta do is just let me take control...the more you keep me in...the worse it gets."_

"Pl-please...j-j-just stop." Sarah inwardly cried. "Wh-why are you like this?"

"_It's what I'm meant for, It's what I was created for, to plunge a person into eternal darkness, you'll soon be every bit like you saw in that dream...you're parents...they die Sarah. You kill them...you'll kill them...and when you do...it's when everything will go south."_

"No." Sarah sobbed. "Please, I won't kill my parents, I would never."

"_But you will...they'll die, you'll suffer, everything will fall into hell...your whole life is planned out Sarah. Everything you've seen will start to happen...Moon's already learned Hypnosis omega, in due time it'll steadily grow into more. You'll see Sarah, everything is set in place...it's only a matter of time."_

"PSI ROLLIN β!"

Multi colored beams of light shot past her ear knocking the Ranboob behind her out cold.

Sarah blinked, just like that, the pain had stopped. She didn't know why and she found herself very aware. Her heart was pounding and she had a lump in her throat.

"Sarah...are...are you alright?" Erick questioned. "Your powers aren't even working...and you've been awfully quiet today." Moon whacked a mushroom past both of them. "Moon I think we should get Sarah to a doctor...she doesn't look so good." Moon was quickly losing his patience.

"What good is that going to do?" Moon snapped. "The only thing that's wrong with her is her powers aren't working...what use is a doctor going to be?"

"Okay no need to get so mean about it jeez." Erick muttered. "I was merely suggesting that we tend to your girlfriend's needs. There could be some reasonable explanation for this."

Moon drew in a breath. The memory of a curly, red haired girl flashed through his mind. Her voice spoke to him.

"_Moon? Why are you acting like this? You need to stop!"_

He quickly shook his head. "Yeah you're right...sorry...I wasn't thinking straight."

Erick raised an eyebrow at his sudden change in behavior. "Um...okay." he said hesitantly.

Moon placed his hands on Sarah's shoulders. All she did was stand there with a blank face. "Are you sure you're okay Sarah?" Erick asked. "If you aren't feeling up to it, we can always go back to Saturn Valley." he didn't get a response, he looked at Moon, whose face had gone very pale. "Is something wrong?" Erick asked.

"Yeah...she's not thinking...literally." he said shakily. "I don't know what's wrong...but it's like she...died?"

"So what you're telling me...is that her brain, quite literally, isn't working?" Erick asked.

Sarah suddenly shook her head. "N-no...I'm not dead you guys." she said shyly. "I-I-I was just...thinking...about this dream I had last night."

"Call me crazy Sarah." Moon said. "But we don't think you're in normal condition...your PSI energy...it's almost like it doesn't even exist. It's so low...your fire was very weak and you've been well...not as upbeat as you usually are."

Erick snapped his fingers. "That's it!" he said eagerly. Moon and Sarah stared at him blankly. "I think I know how to fix her power problem...If you don't mind...could you two...express your affection to each other?"

"I'm sorry what?" Sarah asked.

"You know...Moon, do something nice for her, show her how much you like her! Do something that couples usually do to show their feelings for one another, cheer her up." The two just looked at him dumbly. Erick facepalmed. "JUST KISS HER YOU IDIOT!"

Both of them went bright red as they looked at each other. Sarah knew to herself that she needed something to make her feel better...but Erick had just made the entire scene incredibly uncomfortable...even though she loved Moon, it would be hard for him to make this situation less awkward for her.

That was of course, where she was wrong. She didn't know what had happened, but without hesitation, Moon had grabbed her wrist and pulled into a passionate kiss. Though...something felt different about this one...even though he usually initiated contact between both of them, she always found herself in control of the kiss. This time however, the kiss was more fierce and forceful, he was the one in control...it sent some sort of burst energy to her core. Then he separated from her.

"Now Moon...how does her PSI energy feel?" Erick asked after a brief moment of silence.

Moon stared at Sarah. "It...feels...better...more alive, more there...it doesn't feel non-existent." he said.

"Just as I suspected!" Erick said. "Your powers are emotionally tied to you."

"Which means what?" Moon asked.

"It means that if you are in a state of simple emotions...like sadness, embarrassment, and despair, your powers will we be weaker. Complex emotions, like love and anger, will make them powerful but also unstable. Call it a hunch, but you two may be each other's power source."

"Well that's interesting." Sarah said. "But I feel like we're forgetting something." she said.

Moon pointed to a secondary cave, "Milky Well, the sanctuary location."

The trio entered the cave only to find that it was more or less of a tunnel at the edge was an exit that led outside where they could just about see a pink geyser in the center outside.

"Well that was fairly simple." Erick said. "Nothing to-"

"Please don't finish that sentence." Moon said. "There's a monster waiting for us...it's called the Trillionage Sprout...if my memory serves correct."

A sudden flash of bright white light and in front of them stood a pile of dirt with glaring eyes and a yellow sprout on the top of its head.

"Definitely a plant." Erick said. "Sarah you focus on fire."

"Welcome, Moon...Sarah...Erick. This is the third "Your Sanctuary Location." the sprout said in cold voice. "But it's mine now! Take it from me...if you dare!"

Moon looked at the sprout...something about its eyes gave him a bad feeling.

Suddenly a bunch more Ranboobs popped out from around the cave with their leafy spears pointed at the ready. "Sarah you burn the plant, Erick you and I take care of the Ranboobs."

"Shield !" A number of walls of light sprung up in front of each of the Ranboobs."

Erick fired his laser at several, the walls of light sprung up protecting each of the creatures from their pellets. However, the shields were very weak as several of them shattered instantly. "Erick do you have anything that might be able to stop their PSI?" Moon asked as he fired off a Rollin.

"I could try that broken machine I repaired." Erick said whipping out what looked liked a radio. He pressed a button Moon felt the dark energy around each of the creatures get weaker. Their PSI energy became as low as Sarah's was earlier.

Suddenly his mind flashed. The image of Sarah's body turning into a diamond. Quickly he turned around. He quickly turned around towards the sprout. "PSI ROLLIN β!" he shouted. Multi colored beams of light enveloped the dirty sprout monster.

Out of nowhere a Ranboob struck him from behind throwing him at the pile of dirt. The sprout glared at him with its eerie eyes. Out of nowhere he felt a sharp pain near his arm. "Sarah...finish it while it's distracted!" Erick shouted.

Sarah nodded. She turned towards the sprout and shouted. "PSI THUNDER β!" Two lighting bolts struck the sprout at the same time frying the whole thing up and it moved no more. All remaining Ranboobs retreated away from them.

"Alright that was fairly simple." Erick said. "Not to much damage to any of us and-"

"Um...Erick...we have a problem." Moon said looking at his hand.

"What I don't see anything wrong with...GOOD LORD!"

Moon's hands had turned from skin to diamond. Sarah's eyes widened. "Moon...are you...okay?" she asked.

Moon glanced down, parts of his shoe were turning into diamond as well. "It's spreading...I need to get in that sanctuary...like now." he said quickly.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Erick shouted. "You are literally turning into a human diamond...and you want to go into that stupid sancturary. We should be getting you to the Dr. Saturn back in that crazy valley!"

By now the Diamondinization had spread to the entirety of Moon's body, a bit of diamond had started to spread over his forehead now as well. "Just...get me in the sanctuary, it's healed my injuries in the past...so hopefully it can cure this." he said quickly.

Sarah and Erick pushed him into the sanctuary. In the center of the opening was a pink liquid fountain that reminded him of the pool in Saturn Valley. Just like with the first two a soothing melody began to play for the three of them. Then Moon heard his Mother's voice.

"_Be a thoughtful, strong boy…" _

Moon blinked and glanced down. The diamondization had vanished from his body. He was back to normal just like that. Sarah was leaning on his shoulder while Erick was looking around with interest.

"Fascinating." he said. "This place seems to exist outside of the rest of the world. It's got some sort of...mystical property to it, it restores our conditions...who knows...maybe it could revive the dead!"

"Well here's the thing." Sarah said. "Only we are destined to make these places our own...it's quite possible that only the four of us are able to get full use of this place."

Out of nowhere, Moon felt a stinging pain in his forehead. "Damn you...not now." he muttered.

"_I wanna see...I wanna feel...you gotta do it eventually, even you can't take the amount of pain I'm capable of dealing." _

"Anyways...it's only Noon." Erick said, glancing up at the sky. "We should probably follow that vision of yours Moon and return to Threed for the night, then tomorrow we can head to Fourside."

"Agreed...Sarah...you ready to head back?" Moon asked. Sarah nodded in response.

**(Threed Later at night)**

Moon awoke in the hotel room. After returning to Threed the trio were greeted as heroes. People wanted to shake their hands and thank them for all the work they had done to stop the zombies, they had visited the Zombie Relief Corps tent, had yet another encounter with the photo man, and looked at the remaining zombies now trapped in circus animal cages. Moon had even met a few kids.

"Well, I can't say today hasn't been interesting." he muttered as he watched Sarah. "I can only imagine what torture she's going through."

"_You may think that you're trying to help by being cautious...but the truth is, Dark Sarah is still a young influence, she hasn't had ten years of being existent...she still doesn't understand much of anything...not like she's gonna listen to you...if you want…"_

"What makes you think for a second that I'm going to believe you?"

"_Not much, but you aren't prepared to deal with her craziness either...now if she had a guide on the other hand-"_

"Alright, I can see where you are going with this...so I'm willing to trust you."

"_Uh...wow...okay...that was easier than I expected."_

"On a few conditions. Number one, you aren't to scare Sarah or even give her any hintation that you are the one in control. Secondly, I am to return to control first...I don't want her knowing about this at all. Lastly, under no circumstance is Erick, and eventually enough Dyson, allowed to see either of you, if they wake up, you both put us back got it!"

"_Seems fair enough, I can see why you are thinking like this."_

Moon shook his head then...his eyes flashed red. Dark Moon took a moment to become aware of his surroundings then he smiled to himself. "Perfect...now...let's take care of their separation problem." he said to himself.

Carefully and gently, he shook Sarah awake. She woke up with exhaustion...she wasn't sure why but she was too tired to be aware of anything going on. "M-Moon?" she asked sleepily.

Dark Moon grinned, "Yes Sarah?" he asked in a soft tone. Out of nowhere she started crying. "Sarah...are...are you okay?"

"N-no...I'm in pain Moon...please...I can't take her...c-could you maybe...talk to her?"

Dark Moon hesitated...then reluctantly, he kissed her on the forehead. "Of course Sarah, I'd do anything for you, you're my guardian angel."

"T-thanks Moon."

Dark Moon watched as Sarah let go and her eyes flashed red. He watched carefully as her darker side took control looked around the room…a bit confused, maybe even a little bit worried. Then she caught his eye. That's when she smiled evilly. "Damn you're clever." she said coldly. "How'd you manage to get both of us out at the same time?"

"Exhaustion and manipulation sweetheart." Dark Moon said. "Now let's get down to business, we've gotta stop these two from making it Giygas."

"Yeah, Yeah, I know, I retain some memories from you originally. We both already came up with the perfect plan." Dark Sarah said slyly. "So...shall we get started?"

"Yeah we should." Dark Moon outstretched his hands...Dark Sarah on the other hand...reached back and undid the ribbon in her hair. "Um...what the hell are you doing?"

"Well I just thought that if we were going to produce an offspring that we should do it properly."

"EXCUSE ME!" Dark Moon shouted. "You thought that we were going to make an offspring to stop them! What good would that do?"

"Um...morning sickness, hormones, evil baby, their just kids, they won't know anything...but when they do figure it out...what will they do about it?"

"Okay first off, Moon is very observant. Secondly, we are in the bodies of two thirteen year old children. Thirdly, something like this is hard to hide considering Sarah will wake up very weak and sick tomorrow, and if by some damn miracle neither of them think much about it, there's still Erick."

"Oh hells bells, what's he gonna do about it."

"Much like my host, the kid is scarily observant. Sure, he may be hesitant to try and ask them about it...but if he wakes up to them smelling funny and Sarah's sick and weak state...with his IQ as large as it is...he'll know what happened, and something like this is bound to raise red flags for him, he'd definitely ask them...then what?"

"But I wanna do this the fun way." Dark Sarah pouted.

Dark Moon sighed. He then proceeded to wrap her in an awkward hug. "You are still quite young my darling...you're having a hard time adjusting to Sarah's body. You didn't have this body when Sarah was three like I did with Moon. Because you are still a young minded influence, you haven't connected to certain emotions, we are meant to be invisible to others eyes, nobody is supposed to know that we are here...we are an evil influence but we still need to act like humans. That's why I am trying to help you, to help make this easier for you and me to be in control like we are supposed to be."

When he let go of her Dark Sarah immediately kissed him...quite forcefully. She kissed him furiously not giving him much room for relief. Then she separated.

"So what'd you want me to do about it?" She questioned. "It seems like the most optimal strategy would be to eliminate the threat of Erick...but to do that we'd-"

"I've already considered giving him a dark side...it's far too risky. Plus, it'd wouldn't be of much use. No powers, No knowledge of our existence, nothing. Sure, with a host like that, his darker side could take control easily, and without a girlfriend there's no one to force him back into control. But at the cost of splitting into thirds...I don't think so."

"Thankfully, we won't need to worry about Erick with this strategy." Dark Moon continued. "Here take my hands I'll explain after we've done it just do not, under any circumstance, let go." he said outstretching both of them once again. She eagerly grabbed his hands.

"Do you, Sarah...wish to see me as your life long partner? Your only point of relief and comfort?"

Dark Sarah nodded. "Of course I do."

"Do you accept this knowing full well that if you do, you'll be in pain whenever you two aren't together, that the two of us being separated will be a nightmare, a world of pain?"

"I do."

"Then I leave you with just one last question...from the bottom of your heart...Do you promise to never stop loving me?"

"I do!"

Red light started to appear around both of them. Right around where their hearts would be, the two beams of red light, shot out and connected in the center. A heart that was blue on the right side and purple on the left appeared in the center, the red beams still connected in the center of the heart.

"Dark Moon...my...chest...it-"

"I know it's stinging a little, just hold onto my hands...everything will be fine."

The heart then made a sound that sounded like a door being locked. Then the light vanished. The two of them were left looking at each other once again in the dark.

"So...what was that for?" Dark Sarah asked.

"That...was a boundation." Dark Moon replied. "We've just performed an ancient PSI ritual that forces our hosts to always be together, if they are ever separated, they'll receive massive pain, the more pain they're in the easier it becomes for us to take control...it's a simple spell, but it's quite unbreakable.

"Damn, so we've basically glued them together for the rest of their pathetic lives?" Dark Sarah asked as she tied her ribbon back into her hair. "Hell, it's lucky that they truly love each other, otherwise they'd be screwed."

The two settled themselves down for the night. "Well this is it for tonight, hopefully we can continue to see each other." Dark Moon said. "Goodnight sweetheart."

* * *

**That's it for this chapter. Sorry for the late post...I had a few issues with this chapter and it got delayed several times. Um, so due to a family vacation there will be no new chapter in the middle of this week. But um, there is something extra I'd like to include with todays chapter. A little side story that won't be canon to my story, just something extra. Although there will be a few moments teased for a future project of mine.**

* * *

While visiting the Zombie Relief Corps tent. The trio looked at the remaining zombies locked in the circus animal cages. While looking, Moon felt a bit of energy coming from somewhere. He glanced around noticing a small little area near the entrance of the tent where there was a hole. Curiously he moved over to it and all of a sudden a bunch of stuff started to flash through his mind.

He found himself in an area similar to the mindscape, only there were numbers and letters flashing everywhere. Then all started to unveil before him.

Ω

A bunch of people and animals were fighting on a platform somewhere, yellow mice, pink puffballs, penguins, elves, turtles, humans, and many more. Then the image closed into a red and black striped book.

Ω

"Sapphire?"

Moon blinked. He glanced downwards, his blue hoodie was gone, and he briefly saw a flash of black hair and the brim of a red baseball hat.

"Sapph? Are you okay?"

Moon turned around. He found himself face to face with two kids eerily similar to Paula and Jeff, there were however a few differences, The girl while she was wearing a pink dress and red ribbon, didn't seem as shy as Paula was she also wore a sash with her frying pan around it. The boy seemed relatively uptight and a bit irritated. He also had bright blue eyes instead of hazel brown.

"Um...my name's not Sapphire?"

"Oh brother he's lost it!" They boy muttered. "I told you if you stared at that tent too long that you'd probably go insane."

"You aren't Sarah...and you most certainly aren't Erick."

The girl giggled. "Who are they your friends...is Sarah your girlfriend Sapphire?"

"Um yeah actually."

The girl was taken aback. "Oh...you um...you've never mentioned them before."

"Willow he probably never mentioned them for a reason...I don't think we really need too-"

Ω

Moon suddenly found himself in a tropical area he was holding some sort of six tailed golden fox Sarah was with him as well but there was no ribbon in her hair. She was holding another creature it had s green mushroom like head and a thin white body.

"So Moon how about we start our adventure? Angel and I ready are you and Fabby?"

"Remind me again what we are doing?"

"We are traveling together through the Alola region remember. We wanna take on the trails to collect Z-crystals."

The creatures in their arms started making noises.

"Vul-vulpix."

"Ralts!"

Ω

"So Moon...what course of action do you think we should take?" Moon blinked he found himself in some grand temple. Once again, Sarah was with him. But there were a few other people as well.

An angel with black wings, a blue circular creature with bat wings and a sword, A blonde headed princess clutching a triangular object, and some sort of purple alien like creature. Oh and also Paula was with him.

Moon opened the black and red stripped book he was holding. He also noticed that he had a sword attached to his hand.

"It seems that all of the smash competitors have been captured." Moons found himself saying. "We'll have to rescue them one at a time just like with Zelda.

"So whose next?" The angel asked.

"I think our best course of action would be to go after Captain Falcon."

"The legendary F-zero racer? Excellent." Paula said.

"Meta Knight, Dark Pit, Zelda, you theee stay here. Mewtwo, contact King Dedede, let him know of our situation. As for you Paula, you're coming with Sarah and myself."

Ω

Moon found himself back in the tent. Sarah and Erick didn't seem to have noticed what had happened. "Hey you guys ready to get that hotel room?" He asked.

The two nodded "yeah let's get that room." Sarah said to him.

**So just a little explanation. For those of you who don't know the tent in Threed has a corner where if you stand in a specific spot and check it multiple times all sorts of crazy stuff could happen. **

**I included that section as a bit of a teaser for two future projects I have planned. (One is scheduled for release at some point this summer the other is for after this seires in finished). I hope you enjoyed it. **

**Also, the section with Sapphire is an Easter egg to the story _Bound By Our Hearts. _It's another earthbound retelling that's more battle focused than mine and I recommend you check it out. It's very humorous. **

**Anyways I hope you've enjoyed that little section. Be sure to be on the lookout for the other series follow me if you want! As always comments are always appreciated because I hope to improve the story for all readers.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the almost month long wait guys. Had a bunch of stuff going on and couldn't get much work done. Anyways, here is Chapter 15. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

**Chapter 15: Desert, Dreams, and Discoveries**

Moon awoke the next morning with his usual dose of a splitting headache. Though, this time, the pain wasn't as bad as it had been. Even though it was weaker, he still had to get Sarah through her own painful headache before Erick woke up.

He quietly rolled over on his other side, much to his surprise, Sarah was already awake. Though, as he expected, she didn't look to good. Her body was shaking, she was rubbing her head, and to no shock, in tears.

"I-is-is...this...r-r-really what happens to him?" she cried quietly. Moon stared at her in silence, he hated seeing her in pain, but he had to watch her.

"W-What do you mean it gets worse...is it really so miserable...how does he put up with it?"

Moon scrambled up at that. He was getting more and more nervous that she would inch closer to giving her dark side control. After shooting himself up right he grabbed her hand and stared into her eyes.

"Sarah...it's alright...just fight through it." he said. "Think of something happy."

Sarah attempted to think of something happy, she thought of a safe environment, her home, the place she loved so dearly. Moon by her side, her family around the dinner table, and her beloved teddy bear in her arms.

"_Nice try idiot, you just made this way too easy."_

In a flash the room was burnt to a crisp, her teddy bear became a pile of fluff, and Moon's appearance changed to Dark Moon.

"NO NO NO NO!" Sarah cried. "Stop it please...please just stop!"

"_No, I don't think I will! This is beautiful, you just keep suffering...and suffering...and suffering. There's nothing you can do about it. All your "happy" thoughts, are just so easy to manipulate. You fear, worry, and care...all those precious times you've spent making happy memories with your friends...it's all gonna go to hell. Your future, it's set out...you'll lose everything."_

From the outside, Moon was watching her with silence. She wasn't making any sort of movement, but he knew that her vision must've been hazy. All she did was sit in front of him. All he knew was that she was upset. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she was shaking insanely fast. He needed to cheer her up himself...whatever happy thought Sarah had focused on must've been manipulated. He needed to think fast though, Erick was now awake and stretching to prepare himself for the day.

"Think." he told himself. "Is there anything I know that calms her down?" Kissing her was out of the question, there were times he couldn't feel her lips on his when Dark Moon was putting him through pain. Then he remembered.

Sarah continued to shake in fear. Something wasn't right...never before had she been so terrified. Everything around her was on fire and she was face to face with her dark side.

"_Hurts...it hurts...so much...doesn't it." _

"STOP IT!" Sarah cried.

"_When you let me take control sweetheart, that's when the pain stops."_

"NO! NO! NO!" Sarah shouted. "STOP IT! YOU AREN'T GETTING CONTROL! IT'S NOT SAFE IT'S NOT RIGHT!" Everything around her began to fade to darkness, she started to lose her own sense of awareness.

"_Take a melody" _

Sarah blinked. The voice had suddenly turned from cold and heartless to sweet and caring.

"_Simple as can be."_

The pain vanished and she felt warm and fuzzy inside.

"_Give it some words and_

_Sweet harmony."_

She felt something in her hand.

"_Raise your voices_

_All day long now."_

She felt something brush her cheek then move a bit of her hair out of the way.

"_Love grows strong now."_

She felt the thing her hand leave and felt something wrap around her waist pulling her into the unknown.

"_Sing a melody of love"_

She felt a burst of energy crash upon her lips. She stayed silent, enjoying the attention she was receiving...the pleasure that she felt was beautiful...something she had never experienced before. Then the force stopped.

"_Oh love."_ the last line was sung in a tone so low she could barely make it out.

She blinked, she shook her head. She found herself on the bed of the hotel room. Moon looking at her with worry. Erick looking at both of them in awe.

"I'll be...Moon...where did you learn that song from?" he asked in shock.

"Sarah sang it to me when I first met her...I...uh...I just thought I'd sing it to her...her PSI energy felt low again."

The black haired boy nodded. "Yes of course...it would be unwise for us to adventure out with your PSI energy being so low...but back to the matter we were on before. Sarah...where did you learn that song?"

Sarah shook her head just to gather her senses then said. "My mother used to sing it to me when I was a baby...It's nice and relaxing...I also find it to be a little romantic."

"It is indeed a beautiful song." Erick said, glancing out the window. "But um, you do realize that there is more to that lullaby of yours...an entire story as a matter of act."

"Seriously?" Moon and Sarah said together.

"Yeah, there's one fairy tale that tells of an alien. According to the story, the alien was adopted and raised by a human couple. The mother would sing that exact song to the alien every night. The alien's race eventually came back for it and the human couple returned it to it's kind. Many years later, that same alien became corrupt with power and attacked humanity on earth."

Moon's head out of nowhere began to have a prickly pain in it. "Keep going Erick."

"Anyways, according to legend, a group of four people tracked down the eight different melodies that make up the lullaby. Then they sang it to the alien. The aliens mind quite literally split in two. One side was its corrupt side, wanting to continue onwards and destroy humanity. The other side, wanted peace, to remember the two humans who cared for it...the alien retreated and was never heard from again."

"Wow." Sarah said dreamily. "I never would've thought that this simple bedtime lullaby would've saved the world at some point."

"Whoa now Sarah." Erick said. "It's just a fairy tale, there's absolutely no way it's real."

Moon's head throbbed. A vision of four people. A boy with a red baseball hat, blue and white striped shirt, and a scarf around his neck. A girl with a purple knit hat, violet dress, and long golden hair holding his hand. A boy with glasses, white hair, and what looked like a lab coat, and lastly, an older kid with a red tank top, yellow pants, and red sunglasses.

"_Ninten...Ana...Lloyd...Teddy. I met my demise to them once...it won't happen again."_

Then the vision was closed upon by a red and black striped book.

Moon shook his head. That book...he had seen it before. In a dream he had when he was younger. A dream that he couldn't fully remember. All he remembered was himself looking in some ruined area, finding the book...then opening it. It was a strange dream...he had even seen the book in previous dreams as well. It was all very strange...the dreams he saw the book in usually ended with the book closing on the dream he had.

"Moon? Dude? Are you okay?"

Moon shook his head again. The image of the book faded entirely and he was back in the hotel room. "Yeah, I'm good Erick. I just had some weird vision."

Erick raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "What was it about?"

Moon rubbed the back of his head. He didn't really want to tell them what he saw...because frankly he didn't know what to think about it. Maybe it was some sort of metaphor?

"It was um...four people, three kids and someone who looked to be in their early teenage years and the vision ended with a book closing on them." he said.

Erick shrugged. "I'm not sure what to think of something like that...when your precognition does kick in, one would think of seeing things like destruction that we'd have to prevent...not...stuff like that."

Sarah cleared her throat, "Anyways, we should probably be heading to Fourside now...with the Mani Mani Statue being there...it's likely that something terrible has happened."

"So tell me, what's the deal with this Mani Mani statue thing?" Erick said with a confused look in his eyes.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Moon said. "When I rescued Sarah from the cult in Happy Happy Village, I discovered that the reason the cult was created was because of a statue. My guess is that Giygas hypnotizes people with it."

"Oh...okay then."

The trio walked outside and checked the bus schedule. Strangely, the next bus arrived exactly as they checked schedule. Moon paid the six dollar bus fee and the three took their seats.

The bus began to move down the road of Threed. Sarah glanced out the window. It was hard to imagine that two weeks had passed since she met Moon. It had felt like so much longer though, she could barely remember her time with the preschoolers, her parents, and everyone else. So much had changed for her in just two weeks. She had a boyfriend, was out on an adventure to save the world, and...Dark Sarah.

Moon certainly wasn't lying to her about his dark side though. Despite only being a part of her for three days, she had noticed a tremendous amount of weird changes in her body. She found it harder to think positively, be happy, and relax. She could still do these things...but it was difficult. She also found herself more aware and thought filled, everytime she would think of something, it was next to impossible to ignore it. Moon had told her that everything changes because of Dark Sarah and had even explained to her that she wouldn't change drastically since she was older and more mature with her emotions. But...that made her wonder...if this was what happened in just three days to her...what had happened to him when he was three?

"Sarah?...SARAH!"

She found herself snapped back to reality. She was sitting on a now stopped bus. Moon and Erick both looking at her.

"Sarah what in god's name has gotten into you?" Erick asked. "You've been so upset recently, it's not like you...what is wrong."

"Well...um."

"She's homesick." Moon said quickly. "She misses her parents...her friends...everyone she knows...that is what is going through her mind right now."

Erick let out a long sigh. "Yeah I understand what that's like." he said. "Even though I grew up at a boarding school...and it has only been a week...I do still miss Tony and Giovanna...I assume you've felt the same way as well Moon?"

Moon flinched. Truthfully, he wasn't homesick...how could he be though? It wasn't like where he lived had much to offer to him. Sure, he would like to see his mother, Tracy, and King again. Maybe even have some more of his favorite cake...but every time he thought about home, he realized that he was better off out on this adventure with Sarah and Erick.

"Moon...are you okay?" Erick asked.

"Yeah I'm good...hey why have we stopped moving by the way?"

The bus driver honked his horn. "Man it is bumper to bumper," he said. "It looks like we are gonna be here awhile."

"I doubt we can afford to waste time." Moon said quietly. "Carpainter only had the Mani Mani Statue for two days and look at how bad Happy Happy Village turned out."

"Well what do you propose we do?" Sarah asked.

Moon looked out the window, he could see a store just on the edge with a vast desert behind it.

"I guess...we could...walk through the desert," he said. "My vision told me that we'd have to cross one to get to Fourside. I guess this is what it meant."

He heard a groan, which had come from Erick. "You cannot be serious!" the genius said to him. "Do you have any idea where we are? This is Dusty Dunes Desert...it's hot...large...and more importantly...filled with all sorts of mythical nonsense."

"Hold on aren't you supposed to be the one who doesn't believe in this stuff?" Sarah asked.

Erick rolled his eyes. "I've seen too much at this point, with all these monsters, your stupid magic, and these weirdo sancturaries...I'm just going to guess that Giygas has done it all at this point so this desert will probably be filled with crap from Area 51 or something."

"Anyways...there is a store here." Sarah said. "We should probably step inside and see what they have to offer, maybe better equip ourselves for walking through a desert."

Half an hour later, the trio exited back into the scorching sunlight. Wet towels draped around each of their necks, Moon and Sarah holding a new bat and frying pan, and a bit of food and water stored in each of everyone's backpacks. Although, quite strangely, Moon still wore his hoodie...in a desert of all places.

"Moon are you seriously going to keep that thing on?" Erick asked as they started into the desert. "This place is like the inside of an oven."

"I don't take this off...ever." Moon said quietly. "Well...I did once for Sarah to keep her warm...but no, under no circumstance do I ever take this off."

"You really should Moon." Sarah said worryingly. "We don't want you to pass out from heat exhaustion."

"I'll be fine Sarah...I've been in a hoodie ever since I was three...I've never taken it off."

"Why?" Erick asked. "It seems kind of weird...don't you think?"

Moon took a severely sharp deep breath. Then he rolled up both sleeves of his hoodie and outstretched both of his hands to them. Both Sarah and Erick let out a squeak of shock. Several weirdly shaped scars were etched in along both arms...most notably however, on the back of his right hand around the wrist area, there was a scar shaped like a crescent moon.

Moon quickly rolled both sleeves down, clearly embarrassed by what he had shown them. Then he turned and continued onwards towards a weird hole with a monkey standing outside of it. Sarah and Erick both looked at each other.

"How did you not notice that the first time?" Erick asked her.

"I don't know." Sarah said trying to think back to when she had first met him. It was so strange...all those scars...and she never even noticed one in all the time she had been with him.

The two followed up close behind him. By the time they had reached him at the monkey hole, he started moving onwards through the desert again...completely ignoring both of them.

"Moon?" Sarah asked. No response. "Moon?...are...are you okay?"

Danger!

A yellow sphere with a creepy smile flew up to Moon at an astonishing speed.

"MOON LOOK OUT!" Sarah cried.

"Hypnosis ⍺!"

Both Sarah and Erick stared in shock, without looking at the enemy...Moon had just...fired off his attack...and it...worked? The sphere fell onto the ground and rolled on the slightly hilly terrain before crashing into a rock

KA-BOOM!

An explosion went off by the rock, but not affecting any of the trio.

Sarah and Erick both ran up to Moon at this point. Neither one of them understood what was going on at this point. "Moon...say something!" Erick snapped.

Suddenly the ground began to shake below them. They each turned in different directions seeing a horde of buffalo were charging at them in every direction.

"Sarah, most desert animals or monsters are probably resistant towards fire, living in these heated areas and all." Erick said quickly. "So your cyrokinesis will probably be most effective."

Sarah nodded in agreement. However, before she could do anything Moon stepped in.

"Paralysis Ω!"

A rush of electric energy shot through the surrounding area and all the buffalo collapsed onto the ground. After proceeding to whack several of them with his bat. Moon moved onwards without a care in the world. Erick and Sarah just followed after him with worried expressions.

"Sarah...what's his PSI energy level at?" Erick asked nervously.

Sarah looked at Moon, concentrating on his PSI energy. There was a massive amount...way too much. But...something else was weird...his energy felt quite...heavy. Almost like whatever was on his mind was holding him there against his will.

"He feels...well...it's almost feels like he's trapped...whatever is there feels like a massive burden."

"I think it might be because of his scars." Erick said as they continued onwards. "It wouldn't surprise me if the reason he's upset is because he doesn't like others staring at them, always wondering how he got them, heck, if we asked him how he got them he'd probably shut down.

"But...we should ask him." Sarah replied with a worried and tired tone. At this point the heat was really starting to get to her. She started to feel dizzy and uneasy. "We need to show him that we won't care about them...in order to do that we have to know what happened.

Erick facepalmed in his head. "Go ahead...try it." he said with uncertainty. "I doubt anything else will really work...just maybe ask him when we are in a more appropriate location...if he tries to run off when we ask him...we may never find him here."

After half an hour of walking, the trio came upon a tiny shack with a forklift and miniature hole outside. There was a man dressed in entirely gray waiting outside of it.

"Um...hello there." Erick said to the man. "What's up with this hole here?"

The man looked at him. "This hole is great. Good hole, good hole, good hole."

"Well that certainly didn't help." the genius muttered.

"First someone asked me dig for buried gold! I began to feel like I was obligated to find it!"

"Great...you do that." Sarah said encouragingly.

"Man, am I starving, do you have any food you can spare?" the man asked.

"Uh, sure I guess." Erick said reaching into his backpack. "Here have a picnic lunch."

Then man took it and shook his hand. "Thanks a lot kids. If I find the gold I'll give it to ya."

"Wait didn't you just say someone asked you find buried gold?" Sarah questioned.

"No that someone was my brother. Anyways, feel free to spend some time in our little shack." the man said. "It seems like you three are pretty close to getting sunstroke.

The three accepted an entered into the house, it didn't help that much but it did get them out of the sun. Moon sat down by a window staring out into the desert...it clearly seemed like he didn't want to speak to either of them at the moment. But Sarah wasn't just going to let him sit in silence.

"Moon...please...tell us what's wrong...we're your friends...we don't care if you have scars on your arms...we won't think any less of you." she said.

Moon let out a puff of air. "Funny." he said angrily. "When you put it like that...it almost sounds like you'd care if I told you."

Sarah felt her heart stop. She looked at Erick who looked stunned at Moon's sudden change in behavior. She had given him so much attention and shown him how much she cared. But yet, he still wasn't too convinced that she would care about something.

Her silence was apparently enough for him. Moon turned his head back out the window and just sat there in silence.

Erick looked at Sarah who looked beyond upset. He could tell that she was both shocked and speechless. She was trying her best not to cry...but after all that...Moon still didn't want to say anything to either of them. Just looking at her was enough to set him off.

Sarah watched as Erick moved over to Moon and, in front of her. Slapped him across the face. Moon stared at him in shock while Sarah let out a gasp and made a quick movement to prevent Dark Moon from taking over.

"DON'T DO THAT ERICK!" She shouted.

Erick had heard enough at this point and completely ignored her. "Listen here Moon." he gritted. "She is your girlfriend...she cares about you...she loves you…and you have the audacity to completely push her away over some stupid scars from accidents that you couldn't have prevented...tell her what happened...NOW!"

"What's the point...no one has ever cared." Moon snapped. "They've only looked, talked, and never once bothered to ask me how. Why would she care that I did it to myself?"

The entire room fell silent. Erick and Sarah were both speechless as that. Moon on the other hand, was shaking and looked quite pale.

"Y-y-you cut yourself?" Sarah asked in shock. "Why...you have no reason to. You have friends, family, people who care about you...you hardly seem like one who'd be bullied." in her mind she felt like she already knew that it was Dark Moon. But she just had to get something out for Erick.

Moon stared back her stunned that she'd pieced it together so quickly. "What? No...Sarah, I'd never cut myself...I was just more accident prone as a child...just a bunch of stupid stuff I did like playing to rough with my dog." Erick and Sarah both let out a sigh of relief. "I just don't like remembering how I got them...they serve as a part of my past I regret, it's why I where the hoodie, to cover them up. As for the crescent moon, I've had that since I was a baby. It's why my name is Moon."

In reality, it was Dark Moon who had cut him. Mainly as a form of punishment for not letting him takeover in certain situations. Like with his family...at least Sarah understood where this came from...but now she was probably terrified for her own safety. She just learned that her darker side would inflict harm to herself just to torture her.

"T-th-those cut marks on my hands." Sarah said to herself as she recalled the dream. "I-I-I'm going to start...hurting myself?"

"_Well, technically, I'm going to be cutting you...you won't cut yourself!"_

Sarah's head began to spin...she was wobbly and in a lot of pain. "G-guys" she said shakily.

Both boys looked at her with worry. She began to see spots in her eyes...the room was spinning...she felt stupidly hot...and just really weak.

"Sarah? SARAH!"

The last thing she saw was Moon and Erick moving towards her as her body fell back and she passed out.

**(Dalaam)**

Sarah suddenly found herself by a familiar grand palace. She looked around, she appeared to be on some sort of...hilly town. Confused she looked down and nearly had a heart attack. She was standing by a ledge above some pink clouds a long way down.

"W-where am I?" she asked herself.

Out of nowhere a flash of pink light saw herself, Moon, and the boy that she remembered as Dyson from her last dream in front of her. Immediately, the other Sarah started crying uncontrollably.

"I KILLED THEM!" she wailed.

"S-Sarah calm down." Dyson said looking around nervously. Several people outside of the palace were now staring at them.

"NO! I DIDN'T MEAN TO KILL THEM! I-I-I-I JUST PANICKED! I'VE JUST RUINED EVERYTHING!"

"SARAH!"

The voice had come from Moon, he had shouted her name so loudly that it echoed several times before stopping...Sarah now was just left crying silently.

"Shall I arrange for a-" Dyson began before Moon cut him off.

"No...no help...we can't accept it anymore...just...let us stay here with you for a while...I'm going to need time to think this over...Sarah is in no position to start at the moment, and plus the nonstop pain hasn't died down yet."

Sarah just stood there watching herself cry...she had expected Moon to at least have comforted her in some way but he didn't seem too keen on that. She looked at Dyson who was giving Moon a look of uncertainty.

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" he asked.

"Yes." Moon responded. "Just...allow us to stay here until we are truly ready."

Dyson nodded. "Very well then, you know where your room is...get yourselves settled. I'll go see if Erick needs anything in the meantime."

Moon turned towards Sarah, who was still on the ground crying.

"Come on Sarah...you need to rest."

She didn't move, she just stood there frozen and crying nonstop. Moon placed his hand on her shoulder and the entire image changed to a royal bedroom in a flash of pink light. Sarah looked around quickly...they must've somehow teleported.

"Sarah...I'm sorry...I really am...but-"

"I know Moon." the other Sarah cried. "I know, I messed up, I screwed up! I FAILED!"

"You didn't fail...you didn't mess up."

"Moon I killed my parents." she sobbed. "I failed all that training you've given me to help prevent me from losing my cool!"

"YOU DIDN'T FAIL!" Moon shouted catching Sarah completely off guard. "You've never failed." he said lowering his voice. "It's my fault this whole thing happened. I should've known that you wouldn't be able to handle your dark side on your own...I should've just listened to you and put Operation Darkness into effect when your parents barred you from seeing me. If you want to blame anyone for your parents death...blame me!"

"I'm tired of everything being your fault Moon!" Sarah snapped back. "You always blame yourself for everything that goes wrong!"

"BECAUSE IT IS MY FAULT!" Moon shouted. "If I had just kept Dark Moon under control that night, he would've never kissed you, you would have never gotten a dark side, NONE OF THIS WOULD'VE EVER HAPPENED!"

The two stood in silence. Sarah watched both of them, it was so strange...watching herself be upset was one thing...but Moon...why didn't he look that upset?"

Moon eventually rubbed his head. "Just...lay down for the night Sarah." he groaned. "I've gotta think about our plan now that we're in Operation Darkness. So, just for tonight, please leave me alone."

"A-alright then." The other Sarah said.

Sarah expected the dream to end here, however, the scene changed again, this time, Moon was just in a big open room. Sarah noticed that his hand was flashing an orange-brown light. Out of nowhere several rocks formed into statues of what looked like some sort of...big haired female with a staff.

Sarah blinked, that statue seemed a little familiar, it almost looked like a character from a video game that she had seen before. She heard Moon muttering to himself. As he gripped the blue bladed sword she had seen him carry before. Then in a flash, he swung the sword one of the statues. Instead of the sword shattering, it cleanly sliced the statue in half. Sarah felt her eyes widen in surprise.

"Your geokinesis certainly has improved Moon." A female voice said.

Sarah turned around, a girl wearing a yellow dress gown, with chocolate brown eyes and hair, walked up behind him. She also wore a ruby tiara on her head.

Moon didn't turn to face her and instead sliced another statue in half. "I thought I requested to be alone tonight princess." he said.

The girl went bright red at being addressed like that. "You know I don't like being called princess." she said. "Why do keep addressing me like that?"

"Well excuse me, princess." Moon replied back. "But if I recall, you are a princess, you are Dyson's...wife after all."

"Thanks for reminding me chosen one." the girl snapped back.

Moon snorted. "Chosen one, haven't heard that name in a long time...anyways, why are you here Petra?"

"You didn't honestly think you could just stop by and leave without speaking to me did you?" Petra replied.

Moon sighed. "Of course not...it would be unwise...but you still haven't answered my question."

Petra sighed in response. "I just...came to help you out...I heard your fight with Sarah after all, you just seemed like you could use some help...you know...since you're basically going off the grid."

Moon sighed and pulled out a black and red striped book. "I just don't know what else to do Petra." he said flipping through the book. "I'm running out of ideas, more importantly, I'm running out of hope. The nightmares, torture, pain, suffering. It's just gotten so much worse since we dealt with Giygas...there's no way to get rid of them and everything we do to make them stop just doesn't work."

"You seem to have become too reliant on the Demonrift." Petra said. "Ever since you found it, you've been looking through it every night, you must have the entire thing memorized at this point."

"The Demonrift, has given me a lot to go off of. Currently, it's the only thing giving me hope that there is a bright future for Sarah and I. Whoever wrote this, they know something extraordinary." Moon responded as he closed the book. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask me?"

"There's a lot I wish to know Moon...you aren't like other PSI users before us, that is what worries our people. You have powers that are undocumented, we had no idea that there was PSI for internal healing, hydrokinesis, or geokinesis. Your sword Saphria doesn't really help considering...well...you know."

Moon sliced the third statue in half. Saphria is one thing...it was created to be the way it is, it's far too dangerous to let anyone near it, so it will remain with me. As for your people being concerned about my powers princess, they are nothing special.

Petra was taken aback by that response. "Nothing special? Nothing special! Moon you can create living gemstone golems, grab people with water, hell, you can even levitate! Don't try and push it off either, Sarah's no better, She can cause earthquakes and use PK Starstorm, a PSI power that, may I remind you, needs to be learned through training!"

Moon didn't seem too bothered by what she said. Instead he sliced the fourth and final statue in half. "So what you're telling me, is that your people are afraid of something new?"

"They are afraid of you, you and Sarah, the last time a new PSI power was discovered was the PSI power of Rollin, a power that only you and Giygas could use! Then you two just show up, with multiple powers that we've never even heard or seen of. Moon, you've basically gone rouge to them...you're no longer the chosen hero that saved...you're just someone deadly."

Moon cursed under his breath.

"I'm sorry Moon, I really am." Petra said. "Erick, Dyson, and myself. We know you and Sarah aren't dangerous. I don't know how long you have before-"

"Give me two days." Moon said turning away from her. "Just two days to figure out what it is I'm going to do about this, then, ready or not, we'll leave."

Petra nodded. "Alright, I'll inform Dyson of your decision." With that, the princess exited the room. Sarah waited but instead the image stayed put, then Moon turned towards the statues sliced in half. Then he kicked one.

"You ruined everything, all because you failed to do one thing, I hope your proud of yourself." was all he said before the image faded and Sarah was tossed upwards.

**(Fourside Hospital)**

Sarah awoke on a hospital bed, Moon and Erick both sitting down by the edge of her bedside looking at her.

"Wha-what happened?" She asked.

"You got a severe sunstroke." Erick said. "It nearly killed you, Moon couldn't heal you for some reason...thankfully we were able to get you here by calling an ambulance. You've been unconscious for two days."

Moon placed a hand on her forehead. "She's still quite warm." he said slowly. "It'd be unwise to go back to the desert now...maybe we should wait for a bit."

"Do you even think they found buried gold yet?" Erick asked. "I mean good lord it's only been two days. Also, why in god's name are we actually going to help the Runaway Five get out of debt? Gold isn't exactly worth a million dollars."

"Wait what's going on?" Sarah asked.

"Okay so basically in the two days you've been unconscious, we explored around the city looking for clues to the Mani Mani Statue." Moon said. "Apparently some man named Monotoli has recently taken control of the city...become the mayor or something like that. He's got almost everyone under his control...including the police force. Sounds like the Mani Mani Statues work."

Sarah nodded. "Okay what about the Runaway Five?"

Erick adjusted his glasses fiddling with an invention of sorts. "They got themselves into a million dollar debt...there is a rumor that the person holding them easily attracted to shiny things. So we are hoping that maybe some gold would make her let them go."

"Wait we are just going to let Monotoli keep this up?" Sarah asked. "We can't just leave Fourside in this state, what if it gets worse?"

"It's a chance we must take Sarah, those that know anything about Monotoli aren't willing to speak up about it." Moon responded. "We need to find the Mani Mani Statue and destroy it. Maybe showing that we're friends with the Runaway Five could get us into his grand building to meet him and locate the statue. So, whenever it is you are feeling up for a bit of exploration in the mines, is when we can get out of this hospital and back to our journey."

Sarah nodded slowly. She knew that they had to continue, but the dreams she kept having were scaring her to death. She knew that she had to tell him...but she didn't want to...it was just so scary...what else was in store for them on their adventure?

* * *

**My apologies again for the nearly month long break from chapters. I had a lot going on and just didn't have time to get more work done on this chapter. I hope this chapter was worth the wait for you all.**

**If you are wondering what's up with my random two day timeskip, I just did that to take up what would've been a rather irritating form of writing...I like Earthbound but it always bothered me that you have to help the Runaway Five first. I don't mind really, but the fact that the first thing you have to do in Fourside is go to Topolla Theater, Learn of Runaway Fives debt, then immediately go back to desert. Just didn't sit well from my writing standpoint.**

**Anyways, since we are only one chapter away from it happening, I might as well talk about it a bit. As I'm sure you are aware by this point, Fourside is going to be sort of chaotic with the whole "Department Store Event." This is where my story will really start to go off the rails of Earthbound. A lot of my lore for these OC characters is for a series that I teased last chapter. So while the main plot of Earthbound will remain more or less the same, this where my whole take for the uniqueness of my characters will start to show. So please just keep that in mind when stuff that doesn't happen in Earthbound (like the few new PSI powers) starts to happen.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know of any thoughts you have, and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: A Difficult Day**

One painfully long bus ride and a short walk later, the trio found themselves back at the tiny shack they had been in a few days ago. The hole had since formed into a tiny crater with a small entrance near the bottom. There was a very large crowd now surrounding the mine and people chattering amongst themselves.

"That man has been down there for a long time now. Do you reckon he's ok?" one woman was saying.

"He's fine, he's an experienced miner! He'll be out in a jiffy!" a man responded.

The three entered into the mine without any distractions. Once there, they took notice of a giant opening and multi-path exploration. The miner from before was sitting down by the entrance.

"Hello there." Erick said.

"Oh hey, you're the kids from a few days ago!" the man said. "Sorry I haven't found any gold yet, but I've sorta ran into a problem. I dug into this giant maze. Lots of monsters appeared so I couldn't proceed. There's these five big moles, If I beat em, I can continue with my digging. But I've got a bleeding ulcer from worrying too much. I'm helpless to really do anything."

"Well, we could help you out!" Sarah said. "Come on guys let's go kick some more butt!"

The three left the man and moved onwards. They continued north eventually reaching a ladder. They each climbed down and moved east through an opening.

Danger!

Several pink snakes slithered out of tiny holes moving towards the three heroes. Each one lashed out making biting motions at them.

"PSI Freeze β!"

Sarah froze several of them in place while Erick used his laser to shoot the frozen statues causing them to shatter. Moon placed the rest to sleep using his hypnosis before promptly hitting them with his bat. When they had finished, Erick took a closer look at the snakes.

"Hmm...Moon, I think we have a problem." he said. "You're probably not going to like this, but uh, we are dealing with poisonous snakes in these mines. Hold off on using your PSI at all costs, you're probably going to be playing medic for a while."

Moon rolled his eyes. "No shielding, Rollin, paralyzing, or any of the sorts, just keep my healing ready for any situation."

The ground below them began to shake, they arrived in an opening with a tall, gray mole in it. As they approached it, the mole smiled.

"I'm one of the masters of this hole." it said. "There are five masters in all. We are all moles, of course. I believe I'm the third strongest amongst us. Take your best shot!"

Straight away it bounded towards each of them tackling Moon into the ground digging its sharp nails deep into his skin. Erick made an attempt to help by shooting it, however, the laser beam reflected off the mole and shot back into him.

"It's...got a power shield!" Sarah said quickly.

"PSI Flash ⍺!"

A bunch of white light emitted out of Moon causing the mole to stumble backwards it started uncontrollably crying making slashes at random.

"PSI Freeze β!" Sarah shrieked. The mole was frozen solid. "Erick throw a bomb or something!"

Erick nodded and lit a stick of dynamite throwing it at the mole. Moon glanced at it nervously. His precognition jumped showing a blast forcing back at all of them.

"Shield β!"

KA-BOOM!

Just like in his vision the explosion was reflected backwards. However, the shield protected him and Erick from the blast of debris, that shot in all directions. Sarah wasn't so lucky, she was forced into the wall by the explosions force and pelted by bits of rock and sand.

Moon took a moment to make sure the mole was truly gone. Then he ran to Sarah's side, "Not again...not again." Erick heard him say quietly. Moon quickly had his hand flash green. The cuts, and bruises around her body faded and she slowly lifted herself up.

"Are...are you okay Sarah?" Moon asked. "Sarah? Does it hurt anywhere else?"

"I-I'm fine Moon. It doesn't hurt anywhere...I'm fine, don't worry...nothing is wrong."

Erick let out a sigh of relief. The two days Sarah had been unconscious were very uncomfortable for him. Moon didn't speak to him too much as they explored the city, and also had gotten a severe headache. He insisted he was alright...but he honestly never looked alright. Come to think of it, the only time he ever looked okay was when he was in the same room as Sarah.

"Perhaps it's just stress." he told himself as they walked through the cavern. "It is worrying though...while sunstroke is easy to take care of, Moon certainly acted like it was terrible, so what if something serious happened?"

The three arrived at another opening where another gray mole was standing. Without even speaking it pounced on Moon immediately tackling him into the ground yet again.

"PSI Freeze γ!" Sarah shouted. A large beam of ice hit the mole off him and forced it into a wall where it shattered into bits.

"That was almost too easy." Erick muttered.

Moon noticed a present behind the mole's shattered body, he walked over to it and opened it. He withdrew a lighter silver bracelet from the box and examined it closely.

"Platinum." he said quietly. "Sarah you can take it." he handed it to her and she slipped it on.

They walked around for a bit more, keeping an eye out for any treasure along the way. Then they arrived at another section. Immediately another gray mole shot out and made a motion towards Moon.

"FIRE!"

A big bottle rocket hit it in the chest exploding its body into little bits and pieces.

"Three down, two to go!" Moon muttered rubbing his head.

Another long trek through a corridor saw them by a fourth mole.

"PSI Freeze γ!"

One beam of ice and whack from the frying pan saw the mole in pieces just like the four before it. By this mole Moon noticed another present box where he opened it...then he closed it and picked it up. Then, he turned to Sarah and handed it to her. "Here, I think you'll like this."

Sarah opened the box and she found a pink teddy bear, just like the one she had lost to the zombies. She instantly burst into tears and hugged him.

"Thank you," she cried softly. "I know you didn't buy it, but it's every bit as good as my first one."

"Care to explain?" Erick asked.

"Oh yeah, when were in Threed, before we got captured, Sarah's favorite teddy bear was torn to shreds. This one looks exactly like it...so...you know...I just figured I'd give it to her."

The three continued through the mines at a steady pace. Then, they finally came to a fifth opening. It didn't take long for the fifth mole to jump out at them but they were ready for it.

"PSI Flash β!"

A burst of yellow light saw the mole collapse to the ground and move no more.

"Moon...did you just...instantly KO it by flashing light at it?" Erick asked with a stunned look on his face. "Why haven't you been doing that more often?"

Moon shrugged. "Flash has never done that in the past...usually it makes people cry or gets them confused...I've never seen it instantly kill something though."

"Welp, we've defeated all five moles." Erick said casually. "Let's get the heck out of here to the miners can get back to digging some gold for us."

Sarah saw something sparkle out of the corner of her eye. Intrigued, she walked over and brushed a bit of dirt off the wall. Imbedded in the wall was a small, shining, diamond.

"Um...guys?" she said motioning them over. "I didn't find gold...but I did find this."

Erick walked over and examined the diamond closely. "Strange." he said quietly. "We aren't very far below the surface, yet we still somehow manage to find a diamond. It's quite big, very shiny...though, it doesn't look too expensive.

Moon rolled his eyes. "Listen, the Topolla Theater manager is supposedly very interested in shiny objects...maybe this shiny diamond could convince her to let the Runaway Five go?" he put his hands below the diamond and began to pull it out of the hole it was in.

"WAIT, MOON STOP!" Erick shouted.

Moon let go the diamond and turned around. "There's nothing wrong with this...it's not like...nuclear or something like that."

"No...it's not that." Erick said breathlessly. "The structure of this area doesn't seem too sound. If you were to remove that diamond, we run the risk of having the whole cave collapse in on us."

"Damn it." Sarah grunted. "Why must you be so right in this situation?"

Moon shrugged. "We've gotten lucky in the past...so let's just take another risk." he pulled the diamond out of the wall. Instantly, the cave began to crack and rocks began to fall from the ceiling.

"Great, just great." Erick snapped. "Now we're gonna die!"

Moon felt something shoot through him. It felt unique, something different from all the other PSI powers he had learned in the past, but this was no time for him to stand there and admire it, he needed to use it now.

"PSI Earth!" he shouted.

His hand flashed yellowish-brown and the cracks in the wall began to fill with other rocks. He quickly turned his attention towards the area that the diamond had been in and it was filled by what looked like gold. The cave suddenly became stable again having the hole repaired. Moon felt the power let go and he stumbled backwards. When he turned around, both Erick and Sarah were looking at him in awe.

"Holy smokes...geokinesis?" Erick said in wonder. "Moon...that...that's amazing!"

Moon shrugged, "Is it really though?" he asked. "I mean, all I did was return the cave back to its original form."

"Moon, you literally just created gold out of thin air!" Sarah shouted, unable to keep her excitement in. "Do you have any idea how overpowered this is?"

Erick examined the gold more carefully. "Actually, not gold, it's pyrite." the genius said. "So, it's virtually worthless...forget that though. If he can make pyrite, maybe he can make gold?"

"Am I really the only one who sees virtually no use in this?" Moon asked. "I mean, what am I supposed to do with this above ground?"

"We can test that out easily." Erick replied. "It'd be best to know the full extent of this power, geokinesis is quite a diverse power."

"Sure...whatever, let's just get the heck out of here and back to Fourside, the Runaway Five needs help."

The three exited the cave only to be stopped yet again by music. The photoman landed in front of them with his camera already ready.

"Pictures taken instantaneously I'm-"

"Could you maybe save this time we're kinda in a hurry." Sarah said.

The photoman stopped and looked at them with a hint of irritation. "We finish here, when I say my whole line...but just this once, I'll let it pass...just say Fuzzy Pickles and we can move on." he snapped a photo of the three of them and disappeared.

"Well, Moon, before we go back to Fourside, why don't we take a look at your new power?" Erick said. "Surely it has to have more use than what happened in the cave."

Moon groaned. "Fine…but only because we have nothing better to do at the moment."

The three stood by the edge of the desert near a few boulders. Erick and Sarah both watched with interest as Moon just stood there.

"PSI Earth!"

A few bits of the boulders broke off and hovered around him. Moon turned to the two of them. He wasn't quite sure what else to do.

"Try...maybe...changing them?" Erick said with a bit of uncertainty. "Sometimes you're able to change which material you wish to use or create...try changing the rocks into something else?"

Moon stood there blankly. Sarah could tell he was pretty irritated about doing this, handling a new type of power was one thing...but just trying to figure it out was another. He did however, do something because the rocks went from sandy white, to solid green. There were now emeralds in front of the three heroes.

"Fascinating." Erick said observing the emeralds. "These are...real emeralds...like, actual emeralds. Hmm, I wonder if you can do anything else with this? Try maybe...creating something?"

"How exactly am I supposed to do that?" Moon asked.

"Moon just think of something you want to see." Sarah said with uncertainty.

Moon let out a sigh. "If you insist." his hand kept flashing yellowish-brown and in front of their eyes, a statue appeared out of thin air. The entirety of it was purple and it formed into basically the size of them.

"What in the world is that?" Erick asked.

"I think...it's supposed to be me?" Sarah said looking closer at the statue. "I'd assume that's what it is at least."

"Well, either way." Erick said examining the statue. "It's made of amethyst...perhaps you can create anything using anysort of gemstone."

"Again...in what universe would this ever be useful?" Moon asked.

"Who knows...maybe you can use it defensively." Erick said. "Like, say an enemy tries to attack us...you can use the rocks the put up a barrier between the attack and us."

"But we have shields." Sarah interrupted. "Perhaps there are some offensive capabilities to this that we just can't seem to determine."

"Fair point...who knows then." Erick shrugged. "Anyway, let's just get back to Fourside, it's probably getting to be around mid-day."

Half an hour later, the trio arrived back in Fourside. When the trio exited the tunnel into Fourside, Moon noticed a grand skyscraper in the distance. Bright yellow letters that spelled out Monotoli.

"Uh, guys, I think I found Monotoli's building." he said pointing it out. "Come on, let's check it out."

"Uh Moon," Sarah said. "Why don't we help the Runaway Fiver first, before we forget."

Moon shook his head. "Does the Runaway Five have a statue that hypnotizes people into kidnapping children to perform human sacrifices?" he asked.

"Good point, let's do that first." Sarah said remembering the happy happy cult.

The trio entered the building and pressed the button on the elevator. It slid open and they entered only to find a woman standing by the buttons signalling it to go up.

"This elevator goes the 47th floor, please don't stare at hips." she said irritably.

"Oh brother...more crazy people." Moon muttered as they went up the building.

When they exited on the 47th floor, they noticed another elevator was closed up for the time being. So they headed through the door and were greeted with a hallway that stretched down. They headed towards the first door and what was behind sure didn't please them.

Pokey was sitting down behind a golden yellow desk facing them. He was wearing a red and black striped tuxedo with a white bowtie, grinning maliciously at them. When Moon saw this, his anger broke instantly.

"POKEY, YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" he shouted.

"Um wait what the heck is going on?" Erick asked.

"Long story, we'll explain later." Sarah said, nervously looking at Pokey.

Pokey folded his hands together. "Oooo la la." he said evilly. "This...this is my poor old friend."

"Funny, I don't seem to recall you ever thinking of me as a friend...hell, you yourself gave me a job, not a friendship." Moon snapped.

"Fine...my bodyguard...ah...what's your name...Pig's Butt...no no, Moon! Didn't you come here to beg me for some money?"

"No you ignorant piece of trash! I don't need your stupid money!"

Pokey frowned and immediately looked towards Sarah. "Ah, miss Sarah," he said hopping down from his chair and moving towards them. "So nice to see you again, did you come here to beg me to take you back now that you know I'm super rich!"

Moon put his arm out in front of her. "You touch her Pokey, and I will throw you off this building." he growled. "What you did to her is unforgivable...I know you weren't under hypnosis like everyone else in Happy Happy. You greedy selfish pig. Not only did you kidnap her, and hold her hostage in a cell! You also wanted to force her to be your wife, and when she didn't want to...YOU WANTED TO KILL HER! So if you think that for one second she came back to you, you've got another thing coming...she's much better off with me."

Pokey smirked. "Just like Olive?"

Moon's eyes flashed red. In a flash, he took out his bat and instantly swung it at Pokey, who just barely ducked out of the way.

"You've got some goddamn nerve Pork Face!" Dark Moon hissed. "Thinking that you can just mention that here!

Sarah flinched at the sound of his cold voice, she quickly looked at Erick who seemed just as nervous as she was. Quite weirdly, Pokey had also flinched Moon's sudden change in voice and behavior though he looked more stunned than nervous. Dark Moon prepared to swing his bat again.

"MOON STOP!" Sarah shouted. "HE'S NOT WORTH THE TROUBLE!"

Dark Moon blinked, then he shook his head. But his actions towards Pokey didn't stop. He grabbed Pokey's tuxedo and forced him close.

"You listen here and you listen good." Moon hissed into his ear so that Sarah and Erick couldn't hear him. "I'm not going to give you anymore chances, I let you go in Happy Happy out of the little goodness that is left in my goddamn heart...I'll give you one day, pack up your stupidity and nonsense and get the hell out of Fourside. Go back home to Onett and live out the rest of your goddamn pathetic life! Because if you don't, and you mess with me, Sarah, Erick, or Dyson, one more time...I will murder you! Make no mistake Pork Face, I've given you enough chances!"

Moon's eyes flashed red again.

"Make no mistake Pokey, if you mess up one more time...you're dead!" Dark Moon hissed. Moon blinked, then shook his head, then he threw Pokey across the room.

"Let's go," he growled to Sarah and Erick. "We've got no business being here."

They turned and exited the building.

Pokey stared at the door after it shut. "I...I can't believe it!" he said in awe. Then something clicked in his stupidly sized brain. "Master, you're so goddamn smart! Moon is a danger to everyone, that was so smart of you, you always know what they're up to...because you…" he grinned. "Oh I am going to have fun with Sarah tomorrow!" he folded his hands and pressed a button on his intercom. "Spook...can you have that department store open tomorrow? Good! They're coming...make sure you get the girl."

He then twirled around on his golden office chair. "Sarah, you think you know him so well. You don't know half of what he really is...because on paper, he's just as evil as Giygas."

**(Topolla Theater)**

"Moon do you want to talk about what just happened?" Sarah asked as they entered the theater.

Moon didn't even turn and face her. "No, Sarah." he grunted. "Frankly, I'm not really in the mood to do anything. After we help the Runaway Five out...I just wanna go to sleep. Okay? I'm done working for the night."

The trio paid for tickets and immediately entered the manager's office.

The manager was a snarky woman, wore a red dress up outfit and had long golden hair. "What can I help you kids with?" the woman asked.

Moon pushed the diamond in front of her. "The Runaway Five would like to pay you with this." he said simply.

The woman's eyes became the size of golf balls. "That that that Diamond. They're going to pay me...with that Diamond?" she asked.

"Yes, they are." Sarah said kindly.

"O...O...Okay, th...that's fine. I'll rip up this contract!" she then picked up the contract and tore it in two. "Don't tell anyone about that Diamond. The Runaway Five are free! They should thank me. That Diamond is worth maybe...MAYBE...fifty dollars. So I gave them a bargain." she pressed a button on her intercom. "Runaway Five, you are free to leave. Three kids paid off your debt."

The Runaway Five entered the room. Upon seeing the three of them they all smiled. Gorgeous approached them first.

"Sorry about bein' such troublemakers y'all, thanks a lot!"

Then Lucky.

"We won't be so gullible anymore...Well, our fans are watin' baby."

"Let's just do this one last show and then get outta here. The bass player said.

The last two members of the Runaway Five exited the room after thanking them again.

"Well that raps that up!" Moon grunted brushing his hands. "I'm not really in the mood for a concert, so I'm sure you two won't mind if we just call it a night right?"

Erick and Sarah both shook their heads.

"Thanks...it really means a lot." Moon said looking down.

**(Monotoli Grand Hotel)**

Sarah walked out onto the balcony early the next morning. She was very worried about the events of yesterday, as a result, she didn't get much sleep last night.

"You couldn't sleep either?"

She turned and saw Erick right next to her. "No, I was just thinking about yesterday." Sarah replied.

Erick nodded. "Yeah, I understand. Moon and Pokey seem to have history...do you know anything about that?"

Sarah shook her head. "No, he doesn't talk about his home...come to think of it...he doesn't talk about his past very much."

"The way he just...lost it...it's very worrying." Erick continued. "Sarah...I think your relationship might be stressing him out a bit."

Sarah drew in a breath. "What...What makes you say that?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't know, but recently he's just been...so...protective. Ever since you collapsed because of sunstroke, he's just been really...out of it. The two days you were unconscious here in Fourside were rather worrying for me. He barely slept, and he almost never wanted to leave the hospital...not to mention he also got a severe headache...and well...he didn't speak very much. Then today...when you got blasted. And then I'm sure you noticed what he did when Pokey made movements towards you."

Sarah looked down. Her suspicions were accurate, Moon never seemed too particularly happy whenever she wasn't with him.

"Erick." she said softly.

"Yes Sarah?" the boy asked.

"Why did you feel the need to bring this up with me?"

"Well...I...uh." Erick hesitated.

"You don't think I've noticed?" she asked. "He acts so paranoid all the time...whenever something dangerous happens...he always tries to keep both of us out of harm's way...even though he can heal us...it's like he just can't let himself watch us get hurt."

"Not us Sarah, you Sarah, you!" Erick said. "It's just you! He always tries to keep you safe!"

"But enemies never go for you!" Sarah snapped back. "They're only interested in me and him! And in those rare instances they actually do try to go for you! He actually directs their attention away from you. I mean for god's sake...when was the last time he ever had to use Lifeup on you?"

"Well...actually now that you mention it...you're right." the genius responded.

Sarah shrugged. "I'm just worried Erick. Our adventure to take out Giygas has been going smoothly. I'm just nervous, what if something...serious were to happen?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there Sarah." Erick said. "In the meantime, the department store is reopening today...we should go check it out."

Sarah nodded. The two walked back inside only to find Moon awake and by his backpack. He was holding some sort of strange bottle with a strange light blue liquid in it. He took a long sip from it before putting it back in his bag.

"I'm running low again." he muttered looking at his hand. "Bad timing as well, I just can't seem to keep him under control. Hopefully we meet Dyson soon, otherwise we're gonna be making one very irritating detour."

"Moon?"

He froze as Sarah and Erick walked up to him.

"Is everything okay with your hand?" Erick asked.

"Yeah, it's fine." Moon lied. "Just stinging a little, took a painkiller to hopefully settle it down."

"Well, okay then...let's go to the department store." Sarah said. "Then we can continue our search for the Mani Mani Statue."

The three exited the hotel and walked down the street towards the very large Fourside Department Store. Once they got their they entered inside. The lights were on, but nobody seemed to be in the store.

"Odd." Erick said looking around. "I know it's only seven...but still, you'd think more people would be here right?"

"Yeah...very odd." Moon responded.

"Moon...maybe we should just come back later." Sarah said nervously.

Suddenly, the power went out. Moon's head suddenly began to flash as a continuous shrieks and evil cold laughter filled the room.

"MOON!"

"SARAH!"

"MOON HELP ME! PLEASE!"

The lighting in the room became a bit more adjustable to their eyesight. When Moon gathered his senses he saw just Erick. Sarah was nowhere to be seen.

"Sarah? Where is she?" Moon asked.

"I-I don't know." Erick responded.

Moon looked around in worry and horror. The one thing he had been dreading since day one of ever being in a relationship with Sarah had finally come back to hit him. His head was now in more pain than he had ever been in before.

"SHE'S GONE!" Moon shouted.

"Don't worry Moon, we'll find her. I swear, we'll find her." Erick said.

"_Ha, real nice, what are you gonna do without your little guardian angel by your side?" _

Moon basically felt himself break...at this point, there was only one thing he could do.

"I want you to find her." he muttered. "You're in charge, I don't really give a damn what you do...as long as you keep Erick out of harm's way. Find her, please."

"_What if I don't want too?"_

"It's not really up to you, I want you in charge and if I tell you to do something you have to do it. Now do it you torturous jerk."

Moon's didn't even wait for a response from his dark side. He didn't want to wait for anything else. He even didn't care how stupid and dangerous this was. All he cared about was Sarah, and getting her back to safety. The last thing he saw was Erick's worried expression as his eyes flashed red and everything faded to darkness.

* * *

**Well, that's all for todays chapter. I would like everyone to know my plans for Fourside have remained the same since the very beginning of writing this story. With that being the case, I'll begin writing our next chapter immediately. Moonside is an interesting place to say the least. Very creepy, the way the NPCS talk to you, the dialogue, and heck even the enemies are pretty weird even by Earthbound's standards.**

**Now, if you would, I'm going to discuss a bit about what the plan is going to be for the events of this section of the game. Our story is going to split into 3 separate parts. One for Sarah, One for Erick, and One for Moon. Sarah's part is for a bit of lore and just kind of filler. Erick's will be the main focus of the next chapter which will be all of the Department Store and Moonside.**

**Moon's on the other hand, will be a bit out of place. I plan for Moon's section to take place in Magicant. Now, I get that Magicant is supposed to be for the late game in an Earthbound story. Well we'll visit Magicant again, my take on Magicant will be a bit different for this section. ** It's going to focus a lot on his past but if I'm being honest, this isn't meant to be the big reveal, as no other character is supposed to know about his past. Also, because of my lore, a certain someone will be accompanying Moon in Magicant. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing if anyone already knows who it will be. (I will be honest, it's not going to be Sarah).

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, any sort of feedback and suggestions are always appreciated, heck I don't mind if you drop a review that just said "Good." I'll see you in the next chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: A Darkside to Everyone!**

Sarah felt herself entangled in something slimy. She struggled to try and make any sort of movement with her arms and legs. She was forced into a brightly lit office and flung to the floor. She forced herself up and turned around only to be met with a rather hideous sight.

A green creature with eyes popping out the top of two long rods and about eight tentacles was glaring at her evilly. "Well...that was certainly easier than I expected." the creature hissed. "Moon and Erick will certainly be easier to eliminate without you by their side." Sarah suddenly found her arms being forced behind her and being tied by what she assumed was rope.

"What in god's name makes you think they'll even get to you?"

Sarah froze...she'd recognize that voice anywhere. Pokey walked around from behind her and and observed her carefully.

"YOU EVIL BASTARD!" Sarah shouted.

Pokey grinned evilly, "Well that's certainly some way to greet me." he snarled. "Especially since I'm going to be your future husband."

"I'M NOT MARRYING YOU!"

"You make it sound like you have a choice." Pokey snarled. "You and I could be the ultimate duo...once Giygas gains control, we could rule alongside him...you'd see the world entirely different."

Sarah paused. Confirmed fears were one thing, but this was taking it a step to far.

"Goddamn it you stupid human." the alien snapped. "Just let me kill her. It would be so much easier...keeping her alive is ju-"

"Are you Giygas' right hand man?" Pokey snarled at the alien. "Who was put in charge of this operation?"

"You but-"

"I'm sorry did you steal the Mani Mani Statue from that idiot thief then make sure he'd never come back?" Pokey snapped. "Did you get the orders from Giygas to get Sarah? Did you do anything other than bringing her to me?"

Sarah suddenly felt her head stinging. It throbbed continuously and didn't stop.

"_Well this is a sight for sore eyes. You can only imagine how bad this must be for him, am I right?" _

Sarah felt herself start to get really weak inside. She hadn't thought of the extent of this whole situation. She had just been kidnapped by Pokey yet again, to make matters worse, Moon had no way of getting her back to him. As if that wasn't already bad enough, he and Erick had no idea where she even was.

Then out of nowhere. She felt the ropes burn off...she instantly wasted no time and immediately rounded on both of them. She shot two spears of ice at the creature who instantly grabbed both of them with his other tentacles before flinging them back at her. He flung at a speed that she was unprepared for and both hit her hard. One landing on her leg, the other grazing her face cutting it slightly.

"PK Fire β" the monster hissed.

She found herself being hit by fire burning parts of her clothes and her body. She couldn't handle much more, then the creature swung a tentacle at her she felt something shatter as she collided with the wall of the office. She struggled to get up only to have her hair being yanked at and finally seeing her blue ribbon fall to the floor.

Pokey lifted her up. "If I were you," he snarled. "I would stop fighting and accept your fate. Moon won't find you. We leave this cruddy city tomorrow to go find Master Giygas. After I get the Mani Mani Statue, You and I will fly away on Monotoli's helicopter...and once we find Master Giygas, we'll start to take you apart...turn you into someone unrecognizable...you'll be a perfect part of Giygas' army Sarah...just you wait and see."

Sarah fought back tears as pink portal opened in front of her. For a brief second she felt a giant burst of dark energy and instantly knew what that meant. Her heart began to sink...if Dark Moon was in control...there was no chance at any of this going correctly...she felt herself being shoved through the portal which closed behind her and Pokey as they exited out.

The alien creature turned back to the office. "I don't get why Master Giygas likes that stupid brat so much." it hissed. "But I've got a job to take care of...might as well tell them now that there gone to report to the office." it moved over towards an intercom but before it could press the button.

SMAAASH!

The door to the office was flung across the room catching the monster off guard. Moon instantly slid into the room and grabbed the alien before forcing it against the wall.

"What the hell, how did you even know where to go?" the alien asked.

Dark Moon ignored his question. "WHERE IS SHE?" he hissed.

"Moon calm down." Erick said with a worried tone. "Let the alien go...we've got him cornered and we are going to need him to talk."

Dark Moon muttered something before letting the alien down. "Keep your laser pointed at him." he hissed to Erick. "If he makes any sort of movement fire a bottle rocket at him."

Erick watched nervously as his friend moved around the office. The journey up here had been short and painless. Moon had smashed living guitars and record players to bits before short circuiting the rest with some coffee. It was honestly quite terrifying...he had never seen him act so violent before.

Dark Moon walked around the office quickly. "If I had known that he'd just put me in charge immediately I would've planned more thoroughly." he muttered to himself to that Erick couldn't hear. "Now I've just gotta rescue her as quick as I can...though something tells me that this is going to be easier said than done."

He noticed Sarah's ribbon on the ground. He walked over to it, picked it up and observed it carefully. He could see that a bit of it had been burnt by something. And he also noticed that there was a blood stain on the carpet. "Act like Moon." he muttered to himself as he tied the ribbon around his left wrist.

He turned back to alien who was still stunned at their quick movement. Immediately, he reached out with his hand the alien was forced over to him. "WHERE IS SHE?" he snarled.

The alien smirked. "I don't know." he hissed.

Dark Moon swung his hand around and then flung it towards the left wall. The alien was thrown into the wall after spinning in the air for a bit. Then it was brought back to him.

"I SAID WHERE IS SHE?" He snarled. The alien stayed quiet. So Dark Moon raised his hand up and down several times smashing the alien against the floor and ceiling.

"WHERE IS SHE!" he asked with each slam into the floor. "TALK YOU DAMN IDIOT BEFORE I BLOW YOU UP!"

Erick watched his friend in shock. "Certainly impressive that he just learned how to use telekinesis." he whispered. "But what has gotten into him?"

"I'm not talking." the alien hissed.

Moon swung his bat at the eyes of the alien. He smashed one and it exploded shooting blood everywhere. "WHERE IS SHE!" no response.

"PK ROLLIN!"

The usual multi-colored beams of light were now nothing more than black and red. The alien was forced against the side of the wall. The floor at Moon's feet began to crack. Everything about him felt too much.

"PK FLASH!"

Erick covered his eyes as a blast light went off, far brighter than anything Moon had ever unleashed before. "WHERE IS SHE!" Moon shouted. The alien made a movement towards Erick only to be moved telekinetically over to Moon who forced it onto the ground and whacked it with his bat several times. "WHERE IS SHE!"

"I-I-I c-c-can'

Moon's hand flashed green and the monsters body returned to normal. Then he repeated his process of slamming and swinging the monster around the room with every bit of power.

"WHERE IS SHE! I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY YOU IDIOT! TALK!"

The alien at this point knew the battle had been lost and at this point probably feared for his own life. "At...At this moment...Sarah is with Monotoli." it said weakly. "You won't be able to get in the building though...you'll have to get rid of the Mani Mani Statue...it's behind the bar in Fourside, I swear...please don't kill me."

Dark Moon shoved his hand inside the aliens mouth. "PK ROLLIN Ω!" he shouted. A giant explosion of black and red light and green slime went all over the place. Erick instinctively covered his glasses and when he lowered his arms he saw the entirety of the office basically destroyed. Well, much worse, the entirety of the room had basically been vaporized.

"Moon...what the heck?" Erick asked. "You didn't have to do that."

His friend looked at him with a heartless and cold stare. "I'll let you be the judge of that when we find Sarah." he hissed. "Because to my observation she was not only hit with ice, but also burned, slapped, kicked, and tied up. Now, we don't have much time to waste here. Let's get the hell out of here and destroy that damn statue so we can get Sarah back."

Without saying another word to him. Moon walked out of the office towards the escalator. Erick looked at his friend. Something wasn't right, too him, Moon was no more, he felt like he was looking at a monster...something that had lost all care in the world.

The two exited into the still morning hanging sunlight. "It's only eight-thirty." Moon hissed to Erick. "Let's head to the bar and destroy that statue."

Erick grabbed his friend's shoulder. When Moon turned to face him he was giving Erick a death stare. "What?" he snarled.

"Moon...do you maybe just want to...talk about this?" Erick asked. "You're kind of scaring me...you acted so violent in the department store...then you literally blew the alien up by firing an omega level PSI attack into it...you haven't even unlocked the gamma version yet! Then you also said PK instead of PSI."

Dark Moon froze. "Yeah, I think that might've been an accident." he muttered. "I can't seem to use it again...might've just been a tap in from my rage."

Erick shrugged. That seemed pretty reasonable but he still was worried by Moon's sudden change in behavior...from caring to violent...in a snap...it was really unsettling.

The two arrived at the Fourside bar where a group of people were gathered outside of an alleyway.

"Good lord what happened to that man?" A woman asked.

Dark Moon groaned to himself, "Acting like you certainly is a chore," he muttered to himself. He waited for a response from Moon but he didn't get anything. He shrugged to himself. "Damn, the kid's really out of it. It looks like I'm seriously in charge until I find her." he glanced down at his hand and smiled evilly. "If I'm lucky, maybe that cleanser of his won't have enough in it when I'm done."

He and Erick pushed their way through the crowd of people and were met with a large man wearing an orange floral shirt with a fedora and sunglasses and wild wavy hair.

"That's Everdread." Dark Moon said facing Erick. "I met him in Twoson, he helped me figure out where Sarah was being held prisoner."

The two leaned over him. The man let out a few wheezes and gasps before facing them.

"Aren't you Moon?" Everdred asked. "I can't see too well...Everything's blurry...You are Moon, aren't you?"

"Yes it's me." Dark Moon said.

"Well your voice is sort of recognizable...kinda cold though. Anyway, it's me, we met in Twoson...Everdred from Burglin Park. You must remember, I'm the best thief around. That...Carpainter in Happy Happy Village was hiding something...strange. I stole it, and thought about selling it in the big city...an old city wise man called it Mani Mani. It's a strange colored, doll-looking thing."

"Yeah we know about it." Dark Moon said.

"Ow, god the pain." Everdread wheezed. "That bratty assistant of Monotoli's, he tricked me and stole it...from me! He tricked a thief! He wanted me out of the way because I know his secret...that bratty kid placed Monotoli under hypnosis...he gets his evil powers from that statue. At the bar...check...behind...the counter...you should find it."

"Moon don't just stand there...help the man out." Erick said.

"I can't." Dark Moon responded. "He doesn't have any visible injuries...plus Lifeup only works on outside injuries an-"

Suddenly his hand started flashing purple. Which Dark Moon stared at in shock. "What the hell?" He said to himself. "Healing...sigma? That's not a PSI power I've ever heard of...Strange. I knew Moon was unlike anything we'd seen...but PK Earth and now Healing Sigma?" he placed his hand on Everdred's chest and the man instantly sprang to his feet.

"Holy cow!" Everdred said. "Y-you saved my life kid...I...I wasn't sure I was gonna make it...thanks...hang on...where's Sarah?" he asked.

"She uh...got kidnapped by Monotoli's assistant." Erick said. "We came here to hopefully destroy it and then save her."

Everdred let out a puff of air. "It's gonna take a lot more than that." the man said. "To be able to see Monotoli you gotta be in good with the staff or his assistant. I'm sure that's never gonna happen...but I could help you out. It's only an hour long bus ride to Twoson from here. Apple Kid is working on a yogurt dispenser. "I've heard that the maid is having trouble serving his assistant dessert...Apparently the kid only likes Trout Flavored Yogurt. I could tell him about that and have him send it off to you."

"Thanks Everdred." Erick said. "My name is Erick by the way...it's nice to meet you."

"Likewise kid...you two take care of yourselves...Moon, I'll be sure not to tell Sarah's family of this little incident...and...I don't know why, but I feel an urge to tell you that you should probably visit your home sometime, I'm sure your family worries about you."

Dark Moon internally groaned. "Yeah, if our adventure brings us their, I'll be sure to visit home."

Everdred's brow lowered. "I can tell that this whole thing with Sarah must've left you in some sort of funk kid. Your voice is completely different and you've got a dead stare...you aren't acting like the same kid I met in Twoson. Listen, if you're worried about Sarah, don't be...it'll only end up bringing more trouble than good."

"I'll keep that in mind." Dark Moon responded. "But if you had seen what I saw in the department store, you'd probably think the same way."

Everdred shrugged. "You're probably right kid," he said. "I just don't want you falling down the same hole I did...you've got a lot going for you with Sarah by your side. Sure, her parents don't fully trust you, but it'd be a shame to lose it because you end up like me...Anyway, I'm gonna head back to Twoson, it was nice seeing you again, and uh, if possible, kick that assistent of Montoli's in the balls."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to do that."

Everdred got up and pushed a few members of the crowd out of the way before heading down the street towards the bus stop.

"Alright then, Erick let's go." Dark Moon hissed.

Erick hesitated. Everything was unraveling in front of him. His friend was completely out of whack. It was way worse than it was when Sarah was unconscious...if this was how bad it was now. What would happen when they inevitably got to Monotoli?

"Moon...can you just take a minute and calm down?" Erick asked. "Please, I'm sure Sarah is fine...please just relax...your starting to act like a psycho."

"Hypnosis Ω!"

The crowd of people collapsed onto the ground. Before Erick even knew what was coming he felt himself forced against the side of the alleyway. His own friend giving him a death stare, not showing any sign of regret or remorse for what he was doing.

"Listen here genius." Moon snarled. "Sarah can't heal herself, there was blood on the floor of the office, definitely hers. Her ribbon, part of it was burnt, and then, there was some blood stains on the carpet. If you think for one second that she is okay, you're wrong, so very wrong."

Dark Moon let go of him. "Sorry," he said coldly. "I just needed to make sure you understand how serious this situation actually is."

That had to be the most unapologetic apology Erick had ever heard. His friend was slipping away from who he was. But he wasn't going to question it...he had to have his friends back, no matter what.

Dark Moon stood in front of the bar. "I'm surprised you let me get away with that." he hissed to himself. "Normally you would've stopped me at this point."

No response.

"What the hell?" he hissed. "What the hell is he doing...normally by now he's realized that he's screwed up and tries to fight me...what's that damn kid doing?"

He closed his eyes and looked around. He saw Moon sitting on a bench in the middle of a park looking at a fountain.

"I'll be damned. He's really out of it, he's still got the chain around his arm." His own anger was at its breaking point. "What the hell was the point of doing that stupid boundation." he muttered. "This is the one time I could really show him how deadly this situation is...and he's just...sitting there. I'm sure my sweetheart is doing her work with Sarah."

He kicked the ground. "Time's all screwed up again, just like Tabuu said. I can't let Pokey get away with Sarah and I can't keep the Mani Mani Statue working...if I do then." he shook his head. "Don't give yourself that idea. Time is an ill breed being...too think my great chance of coming back is actually inevitable...all because she wished for something so stupid."

Erick approached him. "Is something wrong Moon?"

Dark Moon looked at him. "No...nothing...I'm just trying to get a sense on the Statue's power. The alien definitely wasn't lying...it's here alright. Let's just destroy it so we can weaken Pokey's power and move on."

"So, we have to check behind the counter." Erick said. "Looks like that will be rather difficult, we are just kids, this is a bar for god's sake."

Dark Moon grinned evilly. "Leave that to me my friend." he said coldly. "A good dose of hypnotism will allow us to search the place freely."

"Or we could just...ask...wait for the bartender to be distracted...literally try anything else."

"I'm sorry, did you forget we are one member down?" Moon snarled. "Listen here, I used my telepathy to know what happened. We've got one day to rescue Sarah, otherwise Pokey is leaving the city with her. So let's go!"

The two walked into the bar, only a handful of people were in the bar, there was one bartender, a tanned man with an eyepatch across his left eye. He turned to the opened door and took a look at them.

"This is a bar, you kids don't look like the proper age to drink these uh...protein drinks." the man said. "We don't have any sodas so uh...get the hell out."

"Hypnosis Ω!"

Everyone in the bar suddenly lost consciousness and fell asleep. Dark Moon walked around the counter, tapping on the shelves which contained bits of glass and china alongside many bottles filled with different colors of liquid.

"If memory serves...I believe that I told Pokey to put it right around." he felt the shelf make a different sound as he tapped it. He smiled. "Alright Erick I found out where the statue is!"

Erick walked over. "Okay great, now how do we GET to it?"

Moon smiled evilly, the shelf then wobbled and moved to the left. The second that happened there was a bright flash of white light and the entirety of the room changed around them. They now found themselves walking out of the shelves secondary room and into a bar with the exact same layout. Everything was dark except for a bunch of neon light surrounding the place.

"What the heck just happened?" Erick asked looking around.

"It appears that we may have stepped into an alternate dimension." Dark Moon hissed looking around.

"Uh...Moon?" Erick said. "Your uh, your skin...and your clothes."

Dark Moon looked down at his hands. His hands had turned from light tan to shadowy black, his hoodie and clothes had also changed to entirely black. "Uh oh." Dark Moon hissed to himself. "Well that's Tabuu's genius work I guess, the statue certainly does a good job at showing illusions, but I didn't expect it to have shown who was really in charge here."

"Are my eyes different?" he asked Erick.

"Yeah...they're red. Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering...you don't seem to have changed...maybe this dimension just has a different effect on PSI users."

"Okay so what happened to Fourside?" Erick asked.

One man with a drink suddenly slammed it down onto the table. "Fourside? Are you still sleeping? This is Moonside! Here in Moonside, Yes is No and No is Yes. It makes perfect sense."

"Probably should keep that in mind." Dark Moon hissed at Erick. "Come on, we've got a statue to find."

The two walked outside. They appeared to be in some sort of wacky world. The entirety of the world was colored black except for neon lights shining basically everywhere.

"Very odd." Erick said as he observed the surroundings as they walked around. "It appears that we are locked into just Fourside. There is no water surrounding the city, although there does appear to be land on the other side of these trees. Hey look a present box." he immediately walked towards it only to bump into something invisible.

"Okay then...so all laws of logic and physics don't apply here." Erick muttered.

"3"

"Moon did you say something?" Erick asked.

"2"

Dark Moon turned to face him. "No I didn't say anything, why do you ask?"

"1!"

KA-BOOM!

An explosion went off throwing them across the street. They turned around to see a red, old timey gas pump with eyes looking them down. On the nozzle hose was a bomb. "Welp. I'm ready to go home." Erick muttered.

Dark Moon quickly jumped up. "PK EARTH!"

A deep blue rock statue formed in front of them. The statue resembled that of a knight, it carried a sword and everything. "Well...that was incredibly pathetic." Dark Moon hissed. "This power is honestly not worth worrying about. I mean it's not like the statue attacks"

Suddenly the statue dashed towards the gas pump and slashed at it with it's sword, the pump was sliced in half before exploding and destroying the statue in the process.

"Moon...what in god's name just happened?" Erick asked.

"I would assume...that I just...made my own creation attack." Dark Moon responded. "Come on Erick, there's Monotoli's building!" he pointed towards a glowing red skyscraper. "I'm getting a whole bunch of dark energy senses, it's starting to throw me off. So hopefully we can find the statue quickly."

The two walked towards the skyscraper. When they arrived at the side, a man with black hair, wearing a blue striped shirt was standing there.

"The Mani Mani Statue is up ahead, but I'm going to stop you right here." the man said. "Don't even think about getting past me, 'cause you aren't with a guy whose eyebrows are connected and who also has a gold tooth.

Dark Moon let out a hiss of rage and forced the man against the side of the building. "Listen here you piece of crap." he shouted. "I need to see that statue, it's kind of an emergency, I don't have time to put up with your bullcrap!"

The man didn't flinch. "Sorry kiddo, I ain't going nowhere until that man gets here. He promised he'd meet me here."

Moon's hand started to flash black and red. "Moon STOP!" Erick shouted. "Just, let the man go...we'll go find his friend, and then we'll destroy the statue."

Dark Moon hesitated. "Fine." he snarled. "We'll do it the hard way...let's go then."

The two wandered around Moonside looking for a man with connected eyebrows and a gold tooth. All the locals around didn't seem to know a guy, in fact many of them just acted super creepy and weird.

"Moon's HP drops to 0, Erick's HP drops to 0" A man said. "Welcome to Moonside!"

"Everyone here is so freaking crazy." Dark Moon hissed.

"If I may," Erick said rather bitterly. "You've been acting the weirdest, your appearance is completely different, you hardly are acting like yourself, and furthermore-"

The two were cut off as they were sprayed with a huge blast of water and forced into the side of a building. A fire hydrant with creepy looking eyeballs was looking at them rather attentively.

"I'M SICK OF ALL THESE INANIMATE ENEMIES!" Erick shouted. "Seriously, why are we suddenly fighting objects instead of animals and aliens?"

Dark Moon meanwhile charged up to the fire hydrant and whacked it with his bat. The hydrant was flung across the street where it slammed into a moving painting.

"PK EARTH!"

A big bright red rock was slammed down onto the two objects and crushed them several times.

"MOON, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD CALM DOWN!" Erick shouted.

Dark Moon looked at him with a cold stare. "I am calm you idiot." he hissed.

Erick looked at his friend. Well, at this point, he almost confident this wasn't his friend. Moon had just been acting so violent, so out of control, so...evil. It was nothing like what he was used too.

Out of nowhere, everything went blank for a second, then Erick found himself back in reality with his friend looking at him.

"Erick you good?" Dark Moon hissed.

"Um...yeah why."

"You've been standing in place for a few moments...I tried to do something about it but um, yeah it was like you were just...frozen." he turned around and found himself face to face with a semi-melted clock floating in front of him.

"ZA WARUDO!" the clock said.

"PK ROLLIN β!"

Erick watched in confusion as the attack enveloped the clock and it slowly started to disintegrate. The usually multi-colored beams of light were instead just two colors, red and black. Just like his own friends appearance. Everything about him seemed...well...not like him. His anger, his frustration, his sudden hatred for everything that was going on.

Then it finally clicked.

"No freaking Jojo references in my goddamn story." Dark Moon hissed to himself. "Damn that illusion device works well...it makes us think time stopped." he turned around only to see Erick with his laser pointed at him. Then he fired.

"Dude what the hell?"

"You're not Moon." Erick said firmly. "Give me my friend back."

"What the hell do you mean I'm not Moon, of course I am."

"Really? Then tell me, who do you blame the most for losing Sarah?"

"No one, we had no way of knowing what would-" Erick shot him again. "WHAT THE HELL?"

"You aren't Moon, the Moon I know would blame himself for Sarah's kidnapping. Not take his anger out on everyone and everything he sees."

"You clearly don't know me very well then." Dark Moon hissed as his hand began to flash black and red. "Without Sarah I have no life, no happiness, nothing. I don't care about anyone other than her, I have no problem killing you right now."

"Then do it." Erick said.

"_Do it, I freaking dare you too."_

"Excuse me? Who gave you the right to sit down and just-"

"_I SAID SHUT UP DARK!" _

"You've given me enough control at this poi-"

"_You can't hurt him, you know the rules, _

"To hell with the rules, you don't care about anyone other than Sarah, I squeezed out all the goodness in you long ago. You know that better than anyone."

"_You don't need to remind me about that. Tell him who you are, go on, he deserves to know at this point. He's pretty much figured out that you aren't me, and I doubt those damn illusion tactics created by that statue will save your shadowy nature. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got my own problems to deal with at the moment, you certainly aren't one of them. So tell him who you are and get back to rescuing Sarah, before I force myself off this stupid little park bench. Walk all the way over to that stupid temple, and force you to."_

"Fine," Dark Moon hissed. He shook himself back to reality and looked at Erick who was, unsurprisingly, still pointing his own weapon at him.

Erick shot him again. "You aren't Moon." he shouted. "This whole place is one stupid freaking illusion. All this is nothing more than a stupid illusion for me isn't it? Isn't it?" Erick asked.

"Yes you freaking idiot." Dark Moon hissed. "All of this was created by me, ME!"

"WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIEND?" Erick roared.

"I think deep down in that big brain of yours you already know the answer Erick." Dark Moon hissed.

Erick went pale. "No...No...NO...NO!" he shouted shooting Dark Moon again. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM GIYGAS?"

Dark Moon smiled. "Your lasers are pathetic." he hissed. "All of it is just so freaking pathetic. I've gotten my hands on Moon...and I've gotten my hands on Sarah. I watch them, torture them, and even control them from time to time."

"Then why don't you have control over me?"

"You serve no use to me." Dark Moon hissed. "I only need Moon and Sarah...my fair lady is taking good care of Sarah now as we speak...and I have Moon stuck in his own brain, he's too upset to do anything about it."

Erick shot him again and again, nothing worked, nothing, absolutely nothing. "GIVE ME MY FRIEND BACK!" he shouted.

"See, just like everything else, your world is beginning to fall apart. Your friends are now nothing more than puppeteers to my actions. There's nothing you can do about it, and what exactly are you going to tell them if they do somehow survive through this? Huh? That's right. Absolutely NOTHING!"

Erick pulled out a bottle rocket and fired it at him. The rocket hit him square in the chest, no damage was dealt.

"Darkness is a beautiful thing Erick, it gives one power, so much power. Look at me, even in a mortal's body, I'm indestructible. You cannot defeat me, no matter how hard you try. YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"

"You know, I've grown weary of this, no matter what I do, Sarah will inevitably be rescued. This place has no stupid effect on me. After all, I created it, so uh, how about I show you just how powerful I really am!"

Erick blinked. He was suddenly back in some sort of storage unit. He assumed based on the many labeled cases that this was the back of the Fourside bar. He hoped more than anything, that what he just saw was an illusion. Then he caught Moon's heartless stare and his hopes fell short.

"You see Erick." Dark Moon hissed. "I just destroyed the entirety of that illusion. Just look around you."

Erick looked around. He saw a golden statue with horns smashed into bits.

"How unfortunate that too get what I want, I must destroy things of my own." Dark Moon hissed. "I can't hurt you though, even though I want to. Now, if you want your friend back, we'll have to rescue Sarah. Apple kid is going to call us in a moment, he's created a yogurt dispenser...he's going to try and deliver to us but it's gotten lost in the desert. So we are going to visit a stupid cave of monkeys."

"H-how...How do you know this?" Erick asked breathlessly.

"Because Erick...I know everything that'll happen...because I am your future. I am what's in store for Moon and Sarah whether they realize it or not! I AM INEVITABLE! Now let's go genius. I've got a girlfriend to rescue.

**(Monotoli Building)**

Sarah was forced into a top office. Pokey leering her down all the way. She attempted to break away but Pokey promptly slapped her for her actions. Then he slipped something metallic around her neck.

"Bad wife." he snarled.

"STOP THIS INSTANT!" Sarah shouted. "YOU'RE EVIL, WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!"

Pokey smiled at her evilly. "It hurts you doesn't it? Your dark side?"

Sarah froze in place.

"I know quite a lot about the darkside Sarah, Master Giygas has fully tutored me in it." Pokey snarled. "Those nightmares, that pain, all of it...it all comes from one person. He watches you two Sarah. It's all been put forward."

Sarah froze. "NO!" she screamed. Pokey pressed a button on a remote control. Immediately Sarah felt multiple shocks of electricity spazz her. Her head suddenly began throbbing and pounding much worse than it ever had before.

"Stop screaming, Stop whining, Stop everything." Pokey snarled. "Master Giygas loves to torture those he hates. You two have been at the top of his list for a long time Sarah."

Sarah started to cry uncontrollably at how much pain she was in. This prompted her to get shocked more and more, only increasing the amount of pain. Pokey's evil laughter filled the room as she sobbed uncontrollably. Tears of pain streamed out of her, nothing had ever hurt so badly. This wasn't just pain...it was hell...literal hell.

"Oh I could do this all day!" Pokey snarled. "The longer I press this button the more you get zapped and shocked. I love watching you suffer, Master Giygas doesn't even have to bother you I can just increase the pain of your darkside with a simple electric shock. The best part is, the pain doesn't damage anything. It's all internally mental, it doesn't do any sort of brain damage to you. So I don't need to worry about frying your brain."

"YOU'RE A MONSTER!" Sarah screamed through her continuous zaps. "A SICK TWISTED MONSTER!"

"So are you darling." Pokey snarled. "You share a soul with him! You and Moon. You're both a danger to everyone! You aren't heroes, you and Moon are monsters, horrid monsters! He forced her head to the window. She could see a part of the department store missing completely.

"That's what Moon did, he did that all by himself!" Pokey snarled.

"HE WOULDN'T! Sarah screamed. "HE WOULDN'T DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!"

"But he has Sarah, you should really ask him about his past! He's a monster, an evil, murderous monster! Both of you are!"

Sarah kept crying, it was all she could do. There was nothing left for her, just pain, horrible, terrible pain. Her head throbbed so hard. Everything was blurry. But she knew one thing, and one thing only. She had to escape.

Pokey forced her onto the ground. "You see Sarah." he said reaching into her backpack and withdrawing her teddy bear. "Inside Moon, there is a monster. Inside of you, there is a monster. He withdrew a match from the breast pocket of his tuxedo and lit it holding it close to the Teddy Bear. "I want to meet that monster!"

"NO! DON'T YOU DARE! MOON GAVE THAT TO ME YOU BASTARD!" Sarah screamed.

Pokey pressed the button on the remote sending a more powerful shockwave through her body.

"Moon didn't give this to you out of love Sarah." Pokey snarled. "He can't love, Giygas squeezed all the good out of him when he was young! What he feels to you is something he will never understand. Happiness, Love, Enjoyment, he has none of it! He gave you this, not out of love, but out of knowing deep down, it's the right thing to do! So this gift, is meaningless." he lowered the match onto the bear and it caught on fire.

It was then that Sarah felt something in her break. It shot through her body with such acceleration she could barely even feel it. All she knew was that whatever was coming, was going to be exactly what she needed. The ground below her began to crack. Her hand began to flash multiple colors. She slowly started to float into the air.

"PK LOVE!" She screamed.

A huge explosion went off around her. Light shone and energy shot out everywhere. When she regained control of her surroundings, the entire golden office room was destroyed. Pokey had been forced against the wall and knocked unconscious. Sarah didn't even wait, she knew she couldn't, she turned around, and ran out the door.

Several robots attempted to stop her but she just unleashed more and more power blowing them into the wall. As she ran, she heard windows shattering, parts of the wall cracking, and even a few people screaming in pain. She flew down the stairs and smashed through the doors into the streets of Fourside. She heard several cracks in buildings and in the street below her feet. The whole time she ran she was crying but not because she was in pain. But because she knew that Pokey was right.

She was indeed, a monster.

* * *

Erick and Dark Moon were sitting on a bench waiting for the bus to come and take them to the Desert. Erick hadn't spoken a single word to him. He was afraid of what was happening, both his friends deep down were evil, and under the control of the very thing they were trying to destroy.

"ERICK! MOON!"

Erick jumped in surprise. Sarah ran up to them at the bus stop.

"What the hell, Sarah, how did you." Dark Moon began. Sarah immediately flinched at his voice.

"STOP IT MOON!" She cried. "GIVE HIM BACK GIYGAS! GIVE HIM BACK!" she sobbed uncontrollably.

"I can't give him back Sarah." Dark Moon hissed. "He put me in control willingly. You can't force him back in control."

Sarah let out a shriek so loud that Erick had to cover his ears. Sarah promptly tackled Moon to the ground and held him down. "GIVE HIM BACK!" She cried, shaking him continuously. "GIVE ME BACK MY BOYFRIEND YOU EVIL BASTARD!"

Dark Moon eventually found the strength to force her off him. He stood up, then he coughed up blood. The sight of this prompted him to telekinetically move both Erick and Sarah close to him.

"What part of I can't get him back and neither can you, do you not understand you stupid filthy piece of crap!" he hissed. "Look into my eyes Sarah, MOON IS GONE!"

Sarah shrieked again. Somehow, she broke out of his telekinetic hold and her hand began to flash brightly.

"PK LOVE!" She screamed.

Another massive explosion of light and energy threw Dark Moon into the brick tunnel around the edge of Fourside's road. He made a struggling motion to get up before Sarah brought her frying pan down on his head.

SMAAASH!

Moon fell back to the ground motionless. Erick was immobilized by what he had just seen. Sarah stood in front of Moon, shaking fast, and very pale skinned. She was crying, hard. Erick ran up to her and promptly shook her back.

"H-H-How is he?" Sarah asked, still shaking.

Erick knelt down and tried to find a heartbeat. Then he felt something cold, cold and empty. He couldn't find one, he looked up at Sarah and shook his head.

"NO! NO!" Sarah shouted. "NO! MOON! NO!" she sobbed so louder than she had ever sobbed before and fell to the ground. "PLEASE!" She sobbed. "SOMEONE HELP HIM! ANYONE! I CAN'T LOSE HIM! NOT LIKE THIS!" she put her hands together and started to pray.

"Please! Give him strength! Someone, Anyone, I'm begging you! Please! Help Him!"

**(Magicant)**

Moon was still sitting on the same park bench looking at a statue of a girl. He shook his head and thought about all that had ever happened in his life.

"Where did I go wrong." he asked himself. "I've screwed up so much because of what I've done. All because...all because…"

"Moon?" a female voice asked.

Moon let out a long sigh looking at the ground. "There's nothing you can say to make me change my mind Sarah." he said without turning around. "I made up my mind, this is the only way I can…"

"Moon...it's me!"

Moon groaned. "I said go away Sarah!"

"I'm here to help you!"

"I don't need your help!"

"You do Moon. You really do need my help. Please turn around and look at me."

Moon turned around and was caught by surprise. It wasn't Sarah who was looking at him.

* * *

**That's all for todays chapter. Sorry it took so long to come out, but it was quite long and tedious to make. Yeah, I know I just changed a major part of Earthbound's story by having Sarah escape, but stick with me and it'll make sense. I'll begin working on our next chapter immediately, It's probably going to be a bit shorter than most chapters, but it should be up sometime in the next four to five days if everything goes well.**

**This is a moment where I want to ask everyone a serious question. Are you enjoying the series so far? I've been toying with quite a lot of unique concepts and I would genuinely like to know if you have been enjoying this series. I wish to make this story the best it can possibly be for my readers and I can't help but feel quite offset whenever I make these chapters. I wonder if people enjoy them as much as I'd think and who knows, maybe that's just the way I am. I always enjoy hearing thoughts on what I've written and would be grateful if you let me know how my series is doing.**

**Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you guys next time.**


	18. Chapter 18:

**Chapter 18: Magicant Memories.**

It was Paula.

"Paula...I...um…" Moon didn't know what to say to her. He was basically looking at the one he had lost. This just made him more upset.

The girl sat down next to him. "Moon...I came to help you."

Moon looked at her. "You aren't supposed to be here Paula."

Paula just looked at him blankly, her stare reminded him too much of the old Sarah. The one who was sweet and innocent, not corrupted by darkness. "Moon...I'm supposed to help you, I came from my world to help you."

"Look around you Paula. Tell me if you recognize this place."

Paula looked around curiously. She was in the middle of a park, young children around the age of three were laughing, playing, and running around happily. Bright trees stood around them, with roses and dandelions planted alongside the walkway. The bench she was sitting on was painted white and it faced a statue fountain of a girl. The detailed statue showed that the girl had curly hair, wore a sweater or jacket, and was curiously reading a book.

"No...I don't remember ever coming here on my adventure with Ness...but I assume that he and Jeff visited here when I was kidnapped by Monotoli."

"Paula, this is my world...it's a world that exists within my own mind. It's called Magicant, it's appearance seems to shift from time to time. I come here whenever my emotions run high. You shouldn't be here."

"Ness has told me about Magicant." Paula responded. "He said he saw figures of his past here, people who helped and hindered him along his journey. So what's to say that I-"

"People here don't speak me to me unless I speak to them Paula." Moon responded. "I only half exist in this world, generally people will pay no attention to me, this is my own brain. So how the hell did you get here."

Paula went red. "Um...wow." she said quietly.

"I'm sorry Paula...was I mean to you?" Moon asked quickly and nervously.

"No...it's just...you're so different...compared to Ness." Paula said. "You're just...I don't know."

The two sat on the bench quietly, they both watched as the kids ran around chasing a red ball. Moon watched them move around in a state of sadness. "Paula...let me ask you something. How did you make it go away?" He asked.

"Hmm? I don't...I don't understand your question." Paula responded.

"Dark Paula...how'd you get rid of her?"

"Who?"

Moon's eyes narrowed then he let out a sigh. "As I expected, you can't help me then."

Paula looked at him with a hint of anger. "What do you mean I can't help you Moon. I had the same adventure as you! I am supposed to help you on your adventure!"

"Let me ask you then, Paula, do you love Ness?" Moon asked.

"Yes, of course I do!" Paula said irritably. "What makes you think I don't?"

Moon shrugged. "I've seen the way you look at me, I've seen the way you look at him as well."

Paula went bright red and looked down at her feet. "So...I guess you know then." she said sadly.

"Paula, why didn't you tell him?"

To his great surprise, Paula buried her face in her hands. "I...I don't know." she said sadly. "I wanted to...so badly, but every time I just couldn't bring myself to say it!"

Moon shook his head, "Paula, I know Ness loves you, I can tell. But you can't help me, your timeline and my timeline are too different, Sarah and I love each other, you and Ness didn't...you can't help me with this situation...without a darkside, you and Ness just can't help us...I know my dark side will rescue Sarah...I don't need your help Paula...you should know this by now."

Paula looked at him, there was a hint of fury in her sparkling blue eyes. "Really?" she snapped at him. "And what would Sarah have to say about that huh?"

Moon hesitated. "It doesn't matter what Sarah thinks...I'm doing this for her safety whether she likes it or not"

"HER SAFETY?" Paula shrieked. "HER SAFETY? MOON SHE WAS WITH POKEY! SHE WAS EXPECTING YOU TO RESCUE HER! HOW DO YOU THINK SHE FEELS KNOWING THAT YOUR DARK SIDE WAS THE ONE WHO WAS GOING TO SAVE HER!" Moon stared at her stunned. Paula let out a gasp...clearly she wasn't supposed to have told him that.

"Sh-sh-she...was?" Moon stuttered. "What...how...when?"

Paula hesitated. "I...I...I can't tell you." she said. "I wasn't supposed to tell you, it just slipped out. I'm sorry Moon, but I can't say anything to you about what happened...Please, just trust me, she's fine...Erick is with her, she's alright. Please, just listen to me...you have to get back for her."

Moon went pale at her words. "I've screwed up again." he said in a tone so quiet that Paula barely made out what he said. He buried his face in his hands. "Damn it, I MESSED UP!" he shouted. "I just couldn't take it...every single time I think I'm doing something right it's just wrong!"

"Moon you-"

"EVERY TIME!" Moon shouted. "Now Sarah knows I'm too weak to continue without her by my side...without her...I'm just...worthless."

"Moon you're not worthless." Paula responded. "You are the chosen hero who will save the world from Giygas. Your friends will have your back, every step of the way. No matter how many hardships you all will face, they'll always have your back. No matter what."

Moon simply shook his head. "You're right Paula, but...there's still so much that everyone doesn't understand about me."

"Then tell them Moon. They're your friends, they'll help you through your difficulties."

"They can't help me." Moon said flatly. "No one can help me through those problems, they're problems far out of my control."

"Moon if there's one thing I've learned on my adventure, it's that no problem can't be solved with the help of your friends."

Moon let out a long sigh. "Paula...if you don't mind...stay with me. I'm going to get my control back...but, I want to show you a few things...maybe then you'll understand."

Paula smiled. "See, you're getting it now aren't you?" she asked getting up off the bench. "Of course, I'd be happy to stay with you."

Moon shook his head again. "Yeah perhaps." he said.

"So what are you waiting for?" Paula asked as she gave him a confused look. "You've gotta get up to get your control back right?"

Moon raised his right hand, Paula could see an iron chain wrapped around his wrist which was tied to the bench. "Oh...do you...do you need me to find a key?" Paula asked.

Moon shook his head. "No, just...use your fire to melt the chain."

"But won't you get hurt?" Paula asked with a worried tone.

"No, this is my world Paula, the damage dealt won't be that much, besides I can just use Lifeup."

"Oh okay then...PK FIRE γ!" Paula said. A large amount of fire erupted off her hand consuming the chain and melting it. Moon stood up from the bench rubbing his hand.

"Thanks," he said. "But um...what's with the PK? I thought we had to say PSI?"

Paula giggled. "Poo taught us that it's much faster and easier to say PK, after all, it is what the original PSI users said."

"Makes sense I guess," Moon said. "I guess I'll start saying it as well."

"So...where are we going?" Paula asked looking around the park.

"We are going to head towards either a temple or a sea." Moon responded. "Magicant's appearance changes from time to time. Sometimes I head to a place called the Temple of Memories, other times I go to the Sea of Eden."

"Okay so how do we know where to go?" Paula asked.

The group of squealing three year old kids ran by the two of them chasing a big red ball. Moon promptly stopped one of them. The kid wore a bright green hoodie. Moon looked at the kid and gave him a smile. "Hey, I'm looking for the location of control...could you tell me where it is."

"The Temple of Memories is where it always is." the kid responded. "Just leave the park, walk through Onett, and you'll be there."

"Thanks a lot Moon." Moon let go of the kid and the young boy ran after the other kids. Then, he and Paula walked down the walkway that lead them away from the statue.

"That...that was you?" Paula asked in shock.

"Well, it's three year old me." Moon responded. "Figments of my past are everywhere here, the younger versions of me are littered throughout Magicant. Alongside anyone who has solidified a place in my brain."

"You...you...you uh...you seem so different." Paula said looking back, Younger Moon was happily throwing the ball back and forth with a few other kids, one of the most notable being a girl with curly, flaming red hair. "You seem so...happy, upbeat, and playful."

Moon didn't say anything to her. Instead he led her off the path and through a section of woods. Paula looked around intrigued by the scenery. The tall birch trees were everywhere. The dirt path they walked on felt so real and there were even bushes of wild blackberries occasionally.

"Wow...this place is really...detailed." Paula said marvelling at the sights. "This is nothing like Ness described it. Everything here looks so real."

"Yeah, technically everything here is real. If you were to eat the blackberries on that bush they would actually taste like blackberries. It's a weird mixture of both reality and fantasy."

He led her into a mini clearing. It was a bright green field with many different flowers. In the distance, Paula could see a pointed top over some more trees.

Moon pointed to the top. "That's a part of the temple. Just through these woods and through Onett and we'll be there." he said.

Suddenly a wolf with shining black fur came running out of the woods into the clearing. Paula jumped in surprise as the wolf let out a howl and ran up to Moon. It sniffed him for a bit before letting out another howl and sitting down on the grass. Moon promptly patted it on its head.

"Moon that's a wolf...what is it doing here?"

"Wolves are fascinating creatures Paula." Moon responded calmly. "It's a creature that gives me a particular interest. They travel in packs...and under any circumstances, will remain incredibly loyal. Loyalty, it's a value I respect, its a value that, quite frankly, not many humans possess."

The dark wolf rolled around in the grass panting fast. Moon smiled as he watched it. "I strive to be like a wolf Paula." he said slowly. "While they are fierce and dangerous at times. They are the way they are to protect those they care about, a wolf will sacrifice itself for its pack if necessary."

"Is that why you love Sarah so much?" Paula asked. "Because she's remained loyal to you despite everything that has ever happened so far on your adventure?"

"One of three reasons I love Sarah." Moon responded. "She's never given me a reason to doubt her loyalty to me. Even after everything that's happened."

The wolf let out a howl and ran back into the woods. Moon watched it go letting out a deep breath. "Just keep on going." he said. "You've got to."

The two continued through the woods. Several smiling trees and flowers littered the natural flow of the forest at all times. Wolves occasionally ran by with a pack of many more following. Paula kept looking around, entranced by what she saw.

"This place is amazing." she said in awe, her sapphire blue eye sparkling. "I've never seen a place so beautiful...so relaxing...so…"

Beep, boop bzzt. The sound of clanking metals and beeping sirens began to fill her ears. Taking away the magical soothing melody that had been playing for her before. A giant flash of silver, black, and red emitted off of something with a robotic voice beeping. Perhaps it was just out of fear, maybe instincts, but she jumped closer to Moon.

"_It is done...he will be most pleased." _

The light settled down and she adjusted her eyesight. She was clinging onto Moon's arm. Moon didn't seem too bothered by what had just happened. Quite the contrary, he looked like nothing had happened at all. He turned his head towards her and gave her a sweet smile.

"Scared you, didn't it?" he asked calmly.

"Wha-What was that?" Paula asked nervously. "All that light, metallic beeping, and that sudden cold voice...what was that?"

"That...was...something even I don't understand." Moon responded. "I don't remember anything like it...except one weird moment back when I was three. It's all very foggy...I just know that something happened after that moment."

"Moon? Moon, where are you going?!"

Paula turned her head to the left. She saw a boy wearing a red hoodie running through the woods. The boy looked around the age of six or seven and, while he did seem quite happy, his skin and facial expressions certainly made him look drastically different to the three year old Moon she had seen earlier.

Moon noticed her staring to the left. "Oh, you're wondering what I'm doing." he said quietly.

Paula nodded. "Yeah...it seems strange for you to be here of all places...I would've thought younger versions of you would be in key places around your life."

"Moon come back!" The same girl with curly, flaming red hair ran after the younger version of him. "Moon please come back! We're going to get lost in here!"

Moon watched the girl go, when she disappeared through the trees he let out another sigh.

"We can follow them if you'd like." he said to Paula, who looked back at him with shock.

"Moon shouldn't you focus on getting your control back?" she asked worryingly.

"Dark Moon won't hurt Erick or Sarah." Moon responded. "The fact that you were contacted to come from Sarah tells me that she won't give her own darkside control. Besides Paula, I'm enjoying this time I'm spending with you."

"O-Okay then."

Moon guided her through the forest at a pretty swift pace following the direction of the younger kids. They exited into a small plateau area at the bottom of a waterfall. There was a large sparkling blue lake with lily pads and other plant life around them. Across the lake there was a small enclosed village that had an open gate.

"Wha...what is this place?" Paula asked in amazement.

"This Paula, is a village I discovered in the woods near my house. It's a small village that mainly relies on farming to get the supplies they need. But the locals are quite friendly to children who find this place in the woods."

"Ness...Ness never told me about this place." Paula said in wonder looking around. "It's...so beautiful, I've never seen anything like it."

"The villagers wish to keep their town a secret." Moon said casually. "It's likely that with our timeline differences that Ness doesn't even know that this place exists."

Paula noticed something a little peculiar. Sitting below a cherry blossom tree near the edge of the lake sat another, younger Moon this time he appeared to be the same as he was currently. Blue hoodie and blue baseball hat. Next to him was the same curly red haired girl she had seen earlier. The girl was holding a book and writing in it while Moon simply sat next to her in silence.

"Who...who is that?" Paula asked him.

Moon looked at what she was pointing at. His face fell into more of an upset state when he saw the girl.

"Oh...her." he said. "I...don't want to talk about her."

"Why?"

"Because, she's a part of my past that I regret." Moon responded. "She uh...she's special...I regret doing what I did with her...but at the same time. I know that I had to do it, because of…" his voice trailed off as the girl got up from her position under the tree and hugged the younger version of him.

"It's alright...I understand." Paula said watching the girl.

"No...it's uh...It's not what you think." Moon said going red. "Anyway, I've got a temple to be at so let's get going."

The two walked back through the woods, Moon taking her through a very peculiar type of path with all sorts of turns and zigzags every now and again. When they exited the woods they found themselves by Moon's house in Onett. Behind it, was a grand temple that reminded Paula of Poo's palace in Dalaam.

"That's the Temple of Memories." Moon said pointing at it.

"So...is...is this where we part ways?" Paula asked.

"No...Not yet." Moon responded. "There's still a few things I want to show you Paula."

The two walked behind Moon's house and entered into the temple. Once inside Paula gasped in shock. Several corridors could be found within the temple. Each of them led down a dark hallway with a label above them. She felt a tug at her hand and felt herself give in as Moon lead her through one corridor that was labeled. "Emotions"

Inside the corridor was a brightly lit, neon path that branched off to five different doors. Above each door were labeled emotions, Sadness, Anger, Love, Fear, and Happiness. Paula looked around in wonder before noticing something rather odd. Of the five doors, only three of them were lit. Anger, Fear, and Sadness. Moon guided her over to the closest door which was Anger and opened it.

Behind the door were a bunch of orbs that were bright red. Each of them on a shelf, there were several lines of red orbs on shelves as the path went on.

Moon closed the door on her. "Those orbs represent all my memories with anger being the main emotion."

"There was...so many of them." Paula said in shock. "Why were there so many."

Moon didn't answer her question and instead brought her over to the Happiness door. When opened, there was nothing. Cobwebs hung in the corners of shelves, dust was everywhere, it looked like everything had been abandoned.

"There's...there's nothing!" Paula said.

"Yep...nothing." Moon responded. "Nothing at all."

"So...you really have no happiness...you...you can't love?" Paula asked.

Moon didn't say anything. Instead he walked back out of the corridor and towards the room in the center whose label read. "Control."

Moon opened the door and standing right in the center of the room. Was his own shadow. Paula looked at it nervously.

"That's...That's Dark Moon?" She asked.

Moon nodded he crept up towards the still shadowy figure and pulled out his bat. He turned towards Paula and looked her in the eye as he raised his bat.

"Get out." he said before bringing the bat down on Dark Moon's head.

He struck Dark Moon and vanished instantly. The entire temple then vanished as Dark Moon turned to face her. She attempted to get out but suddenly shadowy chain formed around her arms and legs holding her to her own position. Dark Moon turned to face her. His cold stare and evil smile with his piercing blood red eyes scared her beyond her own belief.

"Well well well," Dark Moon hissed in his cold voice. "Paula Polestar, it certainly has been quite sometime now hasn't it?"

Paula felt her heart stop dead. "No...NO...THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" she shouted. "WE KILLED YOU! YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO KNOW ME!"

Dark Moon smiled evilly. "Yes, you did kill me Paula, but uh...then you made a mistake. You made a mistake so that was so damn foolish! You've given me a gift that I can't begin to thank you enough for. You've given me an inevitable victory...I'm coming back Paula. Once I deal with these lowlife copycats of you, I'll be sure to pay your world a little visit and destroy it as well.

"No you won't." Paula spat back. "Moon and his friends will stop you Giygas. I know they will."

Dark Moon's glare pierced her heart, he frowned. "I don't prefer to go by that name here." he said slowly inching closer to her. "I've grown so accustomed to living in Moon's body that Dark Moon feels like my own persona." he ran his shadowy finger along her forehead sending a stinging, burning pain through her head. Paula started crying with the amount of pain she was in.

"Hurts doesn't it?" Dark Moon said smugly. "To think that you could've lived your life out, until the very end...I would've never made a return. But then you did something so damn foolish...and it brought me back. You're going to be your world's downfall. All because you just had to make a stupid wish huh? You just had to know didn't you?"

Paula didn't respond to him. She was just there, crying her eyes out.

"These stupid excuses for heroes won't stop me, faith won't allow them too. Once they're out of the way, I'll be so powerful, that I could destroy you, Ness, and your stupid friends without even trying. He rubbed his shadowy hands together.

"I've squeezed the goodness out Moon...and pretty soon...I'll have squeezed the goodness out of Sarah...they'll be perfect additions to my army...additions that you guys won't be able to stop."

"Ness...and I...both of us."

"What do you think Ness and your stupid friends are gonna say when they find out that YOU were responsible for this whole thing Paula?" Dark Moon hissed. "Oh they're gonna be so pissed. You made a stupid wish, that brought me back...I'm gonna destroy you and there's nothing you can do about it." the chains around her lowered and she fell to the ground. Dark Moon lifted her up around her own neck. This sent shockwaves of indescribable pain through her body.

"Shame...I can't corrupt you too." he hissed. "I would if could, I know Ness would never hurt you...so if I could just corrupt you...I'd have won...but alas, I can't...for now at least. Don't worry Paula, I'll take good care of Moon and Sarah...I'll make sure they'll suffer. Because when they inevitably get to me...they'll have had enough. Sarah is slowly starting to fall apart...and Moon has lost basically everything else...slowly but surely...they'll both fall."

Paula looked into his blood red stare. For a brief second his eyes flashed blue...only for a second. Dark Moon slowly frowned. "Damn...seems my host really wants out...ah well. Is there anything you'd like to say Paula?" he asked tightening his grip on her throat

"Moon...Sarah...they'll...stop...you!" Paula gasped slowly starting to fade out.

"GAME OVER PAULA!" Dark Moon shouted throwing her upwards.

**(World Sanctuary, Twoson Hospital)**

Paula bolted awake in the middle of a hospital room breathing heavily. Everything was blurry to her and she didn't know what was going on.

"PAULA!"

She felt a pair of arms envelop her in a tight hug. She finally became aware of her surroundings. Ness was in the hospital room hugging her. Jeff and Poo also there as well.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Ness whispered to her. "We thought you were gone for good...I didn't want you to die Paula...I...I love you."

Paula burst into tears. "Ness I messed up! I messed up!" she cried.

"Paula...what's wrong." Poo asked.

"It's...it's those other kids. Moon and Sarah."

"Oh...you...you were with those two for quite a long time." Jeff said tinkering with a broken invention. "What did they need advice with?"

"N-N-No...you...you don't understand." Paula said shakily. "The two of them...they're...they're, they're in trouble...they won't defeat Giygas. They're going to lose...and then...Giygas is coming after us."

"Paula that's impossible." Poo said flatly. "Those two exist in an alternate timeline...the Giygas of their world has no idea that we even exist."

"No Poo!" Paula shouted. "Their Giygas is our Giygas! He's back!"

The three boys all looked at her in shock.

"Paula...what the hell happened." Jeff asked. "There's no way that any of this should be possible. We had nothing to do with that world except offer advice."

"You don't understand." Paula sobbed. "I created that world by accident! I brought Giygas back to life!"

* * *

**As I said, this chapter was planned to be on the short side, I hope it was enjoyable. Yeah I kind of based Magicant on a mixture between Mother 1's with the concept of turning into a big old fantasy town, Mother 2's with the figments of the past, and just a bit of mind control and memory rememberance. **

**Genuinely I hope this chapter was alright. I contemplated on making it longer, but uh, yeah that extra length in Ness's world will be in the next chapter.**

**Anyway, School year starts soon. I plan to crank out at least four more chapters before it starts to pick up in like mid October, then we'll probably be back at monthly uploads.**

**Also I found this youtuber that I HIGHLY suggest you check out, the person has made short mini movies of parts of the three Mother games.**

**The YouTube name is some Japanese stuff that I can't copy and paste. But it does have an English part of: WatanoLemonT. (Or just search up Mother Fan anime)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading leave a review if you want, and I'll see you next week for chapter 19.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: The Prophecy**

Moon awoke on the ground near Fourside's brick tunnel. He blinked for a second...he was face down in the grass and his nose was bleeding. He could hear Sarah crying and Erick trying to calm her down.

"Sarah...please...he'll be alright." Erick said reassuringly. "I promise you...he'll be okay."

"I MIGHT'VE KILLED HIM!" Sarah wailed. "What if he doesn't wake up? What if he doesn't get his control back?"

Erick placed both his hands on her shoulders. "Sarah, we will do everything we can to get him back, we will get him back. I promise." he said.

Moon pushed himself up. He felt very weak for some odd reason...it was like heavy damage had been done to his body.

"NO! NOT AGAIN!" he heard Sarah shout. Instantly he felt himself forced against the tunnel. "GIVE HIM BACK GIYGAS!" Sarah cried with him pinned against the wall. "GIVE ME MY BOYFRIEND BACK!"

"S-S-Sar-Sarah...it's me." Moon coughed which, splattered blood all over her. "I'm in control...it's alright. Sarah...please...it's me."

He looked into her eyes. They were full of anger and fear, he also noticed that she looked horrible. Parts of her dress and skin were burned and covered in blood stains, she had a giant bleeding gash on her right leg and her cheek, her golden hair looked all wavy, and she didn't have her ribbon in it. She also had some strange metallic collar around her neck.

"Sarah...look at me." Moon said calmly. "It's okay...I'm back...you don't need to be afraid."

Sarah looked him in the eye. She could see that his eyes were back to a caring expression, his voice was at least softer, but there was still dark energy all around him.

"KNOCK IT OFF SARAH!" Erick shouted.

The genius pulled her off him and stood in between the two of them. "That's enough." he said firmly. "Sarah he's telling the truth. I can tell."

Sarah's heavy breathing kept them standing in their own positions in silence. Then Moon could hold it in no longer, he fell to the ground at started to cry, much harder than he ever cried before.

"Sarah I'm sorry!" he cried. "I'm sorry Sarah! I'm supposed to protect you Sarah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Look at you, you look so...so...tortured! I'm sorry! If I had just been a better leader...a better friend...I could've prevented it! I'm sorry Sarah! I'm so sorry!"

Erick let out a sigh of relief knowing that he had been right. He turned to Sarah. "Do you believe him now?" he asked.

Sarah just looked at Moon. Much like her, he didn't look to good himself. Blood was all over him from the tremendous amount of force he had hit the tunnel with. His nose and mouth were bleeding, and he probably had tremendous head pain.

"Moon…"

"I'M SORRY SARAH!" Moon cried burying his face in his hands. "What kind of boyfriend am I? I couldn't protect you! Sarah...I can't do anything right! Everything I do just blows back up in my face! I'm sorry I let Dark Moon take control...I just panicked! I couldn't bear the thought of losing you! Sarah I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry...both of you!"

Sarah got down next to him, moved his face up to her, and kissed him. She kissed him with as much passion as she could provide, even if what Pokey had told her was true, she wasn't going to let that stop her from trying to calm him down.

The two stayed there for what felt like an hour before separating. "Moon...it's okay." she said wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. "I'm safe...I'm safe Moon...it's alright...you didn't lose me...none of this is your fault...it's alright Moon...please calm down."

Moon hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry Sarah." he said quietly. "I promise I'll ma-"

They were cut off as both of them felt an electric shock go through both of their bodies.

"I'm sorry Moon!" Sarah said quickly. "Pokey put this stupid shock collar on me an-" she realized her mistake and suddenly wished she hadn't said anything.

"HE WHAT?!" Moon shouted. "HE'S BEEN ELECTROCUTING YOU?! AFTER HE DID ALL THIS OTHER STUFF TO YOU!"

"No No No!" Sarah said quickly. "The alien that brought me to Pokey did all the damage."

"You mean the alien that Dark Moon vaporized alongside the entire room of department store?" Erick asked.

"I...I did what?" Moon asked.

Erick pointed to the department store. There was an open ended room sticking out no walls or anything. "You uh...sorta vaporized the entirety of that room." he said. "But before you two do anything else please for the love of god heal yourselves, you guys look horrible. Also, here." he took out a screwdriver and unscrewed the screws on Sarah's shock collar which clicked open and fell to the ground.

"I don't think Lifeup beta will work on our injuries." Moon said looking at Sarah and himself. "It'll probably heal a bit before…"

His hands started flashing a very bright green. "Lifeup γ!" he said out loud. He ran his hand over Sarah's head and all her burns, cuts, and gashes disappeared. Then he did the same for himself. "Alright now that that's out of the way-" Moon suddenly felt himself cough again, blood shot out of his mouth.

"But...Lifeup."

"Moon try using healing sigma." Erick said. "Dark Moon used it cure Everdred, he said Lifeup only works on outside injuries so try using that one."

Moon nodded and concentrated on healing sigma. His hand suddenly began to flash bright purple. He placed it on his throat, he suddenly didn't have the urge to cough all the time.

(Excuse me? Are you Moon?)

Moon and Sarah turned around to see a pink monkey hopping up to them carrying a dispenser.

"Yeah I'm Moon." Moon said. "Why do you ask.

(Tala Rama has finished fasting, he wishes to meet with the chosen heroes! He asks that when you are done here to come and visit him.)

"Okay sure we can do that." Sarah said.

(Thank you! He also told me to give you this yogurt dispenser that we found in the desert! He said you guys would need it!)

The monkey handed the small dispenser to Erick and then hopped off.

"Okay then." Moon said. "Let's go pay Pokey a visit. We gotta teach him a lesson agreed?"

"As long as you promise not to go ballistic sure." Sarah said. "Also...Moon...could I...have my ribbon back?"

Moon nodded and untied the ribbon from around his wrist. "Let's go!" he said once she had tied the ribbon back in.

The trio walked up to the Monotoli building where a man wearing a blue business suit with wavy gray hair, skinny arms, and a thin body was standing outside shaking nervously.

"Um excuse me." Moon asked tapping him on the shoulder.

"OH DEAR LORD!" The man shouted when he saw them. "YOU!" He shouted pointing at Sarah. "You're the little brat who caused damage to this building here in Fourside! You broke thousands of dollars worth of property!"

"I didn-"

"AND YOU!" He snapped pointing at Moon. "You're the brat who wrecked the department store! The town just got that building repaired! And then you have the nerve to threaten Pokey! The greatest thing that's ever happened to this city and scare him away!"

"That's right, the stupid hypnosis." Moon muttered. "I guess the effects haven't worn off on everyone yet...which...hang on...what is this garbage? Talk about stupid plot convenience. When I beat the crap out of Carpainter the hypnosis wore off on everyone in Happy Happy in a snap."

Erick let out a groan. "Did you seriously just break a non existent fourth wall?" he asked.

"Is now really the time for this?" Sarah hissed at him.

"Mister Monotoli?" A police officer walked up to the three of them. "What seems to be the problem?"

"These kids sir, they've destroyed several parts of the city. ARREST THEM!"

Moon quickly felt something shoot through him. He grabbed Erick and Sarah and thought of Dusty Dunes Desert. A wave of pink light appeared around them and they all vanished in a flash of pink light.

**(Dusty Dunes Desert)**

The trio suddenly appeared in the middle of the smoltering desert.

"Did...Did you just teleport us?" Erick asked in shock. "Seriously you legitimately just teleported us!"

"I...uh." Moon felt incredibly dizzy. "Let's just find...Tala Rama." he said slowly. "Yeah...he's in that cave of monkey's he'll be able to help us."

Suddenly the receiver phone began to ring. Moon dug around in his backpack. He fished up the phone which was tangled in some pendant with a crescent moon on it.

"Hello! How are you? This is Apple kid."

"Oh hey Apple kid what's up?"

"Not much...hey listen here. I think I'm a real genius...In fact, I know I'm a genius. I discovered the primary enemy of you and of all of humanity! We have to fight and defeat this being. To do so we need to invent something called a phase distorter."

"My father was working on one of those." Erick whispered to Moon's ear.

"I've gotta find the wandering scientist Dr. Andonuts to create the distorter, so I may be gone for awhile. Later." with that Moon hung up the phone and placed it back in his backpack.

"Odd where did I get this pendant from?" he asked.

"Oh uh, Dark Moon sorta picked it up when we were in uh...Moonside." Erick said. "You may want to put it on."

"I'd rather not put on a pendant that my darkside picked up." Moon said handing the pendant to Sarah. "Here, Sarah, you can wear it if you'd like."

Sarah promptly shook her head. "Moon...you need to keep your head high. So what if Dark Moon found it? Wear the pendant...it suits you best."

Moon looked at her uncomfortably. "Alright then." he said hesitantly. "I'll wear this pendant." he took off the charm he was wearing and slipped the pendant around his neck.

The three arrived at the hole with another pink monkey outside of it. The monkey turned to face them.

(Hey...Tala Rama has been waiting for you three).

"Sorry we took so long." Sarah responded. "We kinda got...sidetracked."

(It's okay...it was fate that you all would come here to meet him he is down here in our Monkey cave system...I wouldn't wish for you three to try and find your way through there, so I will take you to him myself).

* * *

**(World Sanctuary, Polestar Preschool).**

"So...let me get this straight." Jeff said as the chosen four walked into Paula's room. "After we defeated Giygas, Ness escorted you home...when you arrived back at home, you wanted to tell him that you loved him...but you didn't tell him then?"

"Yes." Paula said quietly. "Something held me back from saying it...just like every other time I wanted to tell him. I regretted not telling him then...and...it just always bothered me. So...I...I."

"You made a wish...a wish to know what would've happened if you had just told him?" Poo said.

"Yes."

"And you believe that Moon, Sarah, Erick, and whoever their fourth friend is...are direct results of your wish." Ness asked. "You're positive that you somehow created a whole alternate universe with your wish?"

"Giygas told me." Paula said trying to fight back her own tears. "He told me that my wish brought him back to life...and that once he's defeated the four of them that he'll come after us."

"Hold on, for as absurd as this theory is." Jeff interrupted. "Because believe me, it is absurd...how on Earth did their world's Giygas learn about us...all points of stupidity aside, Moon's world is an entirely different timeline with an entirely different Giygas. The only chosen four that Giygas should know about...is them."

"Well, whenever Link dies...he's reborn about a hundred years later to stop Ganondorf." Ness said. "When he's reborn he doesn't remember anything until he gets close to Princess Zelda."

"So what you're suggesting, is perhaps some greater force gave Giygas all his knowledge back. Possibly the Apple of Enlightenment." Poo said.

"Okay this is great and all...we understand what the whole deal is." Jeff said as he rubbed his head. "But...what do we do about this, we can't try and mess up their timeline, if it's fate for the four of them to lose, then there's nothing we can do about that."

"I guess our only option...is to...just prepare ourselves." Poo said. "If Giygas does come after us once he's dealt with them...we're in for a fight unlike anything we've ever seen before."

The three nodded in unison. However Paula's was only a half agreement. 'They don't know...I can't tell them.' she thought. 'They can't see what I've been seeing.'

* * *

**(Dark Sanctuary, Monkey Caves)**

The pink monkey led the three heroes towards the back of the cave. They entered through several passageways before finally coming to an opening. In the opening there was a man floating in midair. He was levitating and meditating around several brightly colored chests. The man had white hair that made it look like he was wearing a paper hat. He also wore a white robe.

(Tala Rama, I brought the three heroes to you)

"Thank you." the man said. "You may leave now...I wish to speak to our chosen heroes in private."

The monkey hopped out of the room and the man turned to the three of them.

"Moon, Sarah, Erick…" Tala Rama said. "It is a great honor to finally meet the heroes that will stop all evil. I've known about you three for quite a long time now."

The three heroes looked at each other. "How exactly, have you known about us?" Erick asked.

"The truth of space and time moves through the universe like a wave my friend." The man responded. "Truth speaks through space and matter and makes itself known to human beings. I was waiting for you, and you came. This was destined to happen. In truth, all is predetermined."

"So our entire adventure, it has all been written out already...what does it say?" Sarah asked.

"Moon, Sarah, Erick, and Dyson. Once those powers gather, twisted space will bring back peace to the world." The man responded.

"Wait hold the phone." Moon said. "Buzz Buzz told me that there was a prophecy, he said that when a chosen boy reaches the point he will find the light. The passing of time will shatter the nightmare rock, and reveal the path of light. What is that supposed to mean"

"Technically, that insect only told you half the story." Tala Rama responded.

"Wait...seriously? There's more to this prophecy."

"Indeed. Like all prophecies, the entire truth is withheld from the chosen hero...or...in this case heroes to prevent any sort of doubts, second thoughts, or overwhelming them."

"So...then, what was withheld from us?" Sarah asked. "What does the entire prophecy say?"

"The prophecy foretells that of not one...but two children. A boy and a girl...that would be you two." he said looking at Moon and Sarah. "The prophecy foretells that you two have the power to cleanse all evil and stop Giygas. Accompanied by your friends, Erick and Dyson, together you four would unite the powers of Earth to enhance your physic strength. Once the four of you have done that, you two would have the strength necessary to defeat Giygas."

"Hold on another minute." Erick interrupted. "If this is the entire prophecy, why are you telling it to just the three of us. We haven't met Dyson yet, do you honestly expect us to remember all of this to explain to him?"

The man chuckled. "Your friend Dyson is a special case. He has already known of this prophecy for quite some time. He's been training his whole life for this moment, he will provide a great deal of help to the three of you."

"Sweet, no need to explain it to him." Moon said. "So...um...where do we meet Dyson?"

Tala Rama chuckled. "You three will meet Dyson in the port town of Summers." he said.

"Summers...but...that's halfway around the world!" Erick said. "We can't get there without crossing continents!"

"Well, you three are smart enough." Tala Rama said. "Deep down one of you knows how to get there."

Sarah's suddenly began to feel a bit dizzy. She had a flash vision of the town of Threed.

"Guys." She said slowly. "To get to Summers...we need to go back to Threed...yes...somehow I know that's where we must go!"

"Threed...why Threed?"

"Wait...guys, the Sky Runner!" Erick said. "I could repair it and then we could head back to Winters, then, with a bit of help from Dr. Andonuts, I could program it to take us to Summers, if my da- er...Dr. Andonuts, isn't available, I'll just have to try and program it myself."

"Alrighty then, it's settled, let's go back to Threed." Moon said.

"Wait hold on." Tala Rama said. "Before you go! Please, I insist that you take whatever is in these chests." he said pointing towards the several chests behind him. "They will prove to be of some use on your journey."

The trio nodded and moved over towards the chests. In total there were six chests. Erick opened two. In one there was a machine that when clicked emitted a pale green light. The other, was some sort of broken invention that resembled a tube.

In Sarah's, there was a pendant with a metallic flame attached to it. She slipped the pendant around her neck for her own protection. In the other chest, there was some sort of strange boxed lunch. On the front of the box the label read BFL (Brain Food Lunch).

"Well that sounds totally cannibalistic." Erick said when she read the label aloud.

Moon opened the last two. In the first was a bag of some sort of strange bright blue powder. In the other was a ruby crested tiara. Sarah made a squealing sound when she saw it and made a motion to grab it from him.

Before she could however, a faint flash vision saw a girl with dark chocolate brown eyes and hair in a yellow dress gown frantically looking for something.

"Damn, I can't believe I lost that tiara." the girl said furiously. "Right before I'm supposed to meet the chosen heroes as well...just my luck."

"Petra?" The boy with a black braided ponytail in the center of his bald head, with emerald green eyes walked into the room she was looking in. "Have you found that tiara?"

"No, I'm sorry Dyson, I can't find the gift you gave me. I'm so sorry."

"It is alright Petra, I'm sure it will turn up eventually."

Moon shook himself back to reality and held the tiara away from Sarah. "Sarah, this belongs to someone," he said calmly. "I just got a flash vision of a girl named Petra, she was looking for it."

Sarah looked slightly disappointed when he said that. "Awe, I wanted to be your princess." she pouted.

"You're already my princess." Moon responded.

Sarah gave a partial smile, "Thanks," she said. She didn't know what to think about him now. After what Pokey had said about him, it felt like such a sickening feeling. To think that Moon didn't even understand his own feelings to her. It was just so...infuriating.

"Before the three of you go." Tala Rama said. "Moon if you would, please come here and take my hand."

Moon walked up to the man and took his hand. Instantly he felt something awaken inside of him. It felt like a sudden acceleration rush. A voice spoke to him as he felt something unlock within him

_Teleport ⍺!_

_Teleport Σ!_

"There you go." Tala Rama said. "I've given you the ability to use Teleport alpha, now you can return to any destination that you have already visited before. To use Teleport alpha correctly, concentrate on it while running in a straight line, be sure not to crash into anything otherwise the power will fail."

"Um...what about teleport sigma?" Moon asked.

"Pardon me?" the man asked.

"When I took your hands, the voice unlocked said I learned how to use teleport alpha and teleport sigma."

"There are only two known levels of PSI Teleportation, alpha and beta."

"But the voice in my head said Teleport sigma."

Tala Rama shrugged. "It is quite possible that there are still PSI powers that we have no knowledge of. Your PSI power of Rollin wasn't known about until quite recently, so it is possible that we don't know all PSI powers."

"Wait, so...could you tell us about Sarah's love?" Erick asked.

"What?"

"Sarah learned how to use a power called PK Love." Erick said. "What does that PSI power do?"

"Well, as the other chosen hero, Sarah is also able to use PSI Rollin." Tala Rama responded. "There exist many different names for what that PSI power goes by. Known examples include Rockin, Rollin, Love, Hope, and Despair."

"I PK Hope that Despair was the name of that power for an evil user of PSI." Moon said.

"Did you really have to make a dumb pun with a power that isn't even yours?" Erick asked. "The user of that power is probably frowning upon you right now!"

"I'm sure that he's okay with it." Moon said. "With an easy to joke name, he's surely done it himself a few times."

"Well, that is all I have for you." Tala Rama said to the three heroes. "I wish you good luck on the rest of your adventure. May the odds be ever in your favor."

The three heroes thanked Tala Rama and left the monkey caves. When they had exited Tala Rama let out a sigh.

"Well, I told them more to the prophecy, but it is best that they never learn the full thing. Not even Dyson knows the full prophecy for that very reason. I can only put my prayers to the hope that they never find out...because it would only kill them to know."

The trio climbed out of the monkey caves back into the scorching hot desert. The sun was just starting to set over the horizon as they looked at it.

"Well, we might as well use that new power of yours to teleport to Threed for the night." Erick said. "It would take us far too long to walk."

"HEY IT'S THEM!"

The trio flinched, "Damn, did they really come to the desert to search for us?" Moon asked.

"IT'S US, THE RUNAWAY FIVE!"

"Oh, thank the stars." Sarah said sighing in relief. The trio turned around to see the black tour bus parked on the side of the road. Gorgeous was waving them over.

"Hey," Gorgeous said when they approached him. "Thanks again for helping us out of our debt."

"It was nothing." Erick responded. "Just make sure you all read the next contract you sign."

"Hey, listen." Gorgeous said. "We heard that the three of you got into a bit of trouble with the mayor, mister Monotoli. We thought the three of you were arrested or something."

"Well, I guess that means we can't go back to Fourside." Moon said. "Watch there be a sanctuary there or something."

"Well, actually you can return to Fourside." Lucky said as he exited the bus. "As a thanks for helping us out of debt, we got the three of you cleared of all charges against you."

"Seriously? How?" Sarah asked.

"Miss Venus owed us a bit of a favor for getting her career started." Gorgeous said. "She was able to offer Monotoli something he couldn't refuse."

"Uh…"

"Whoa now Gorgeous, you don't want to imply the wrong thing." Lucky said. "Don't worry all miss Venus did was offer him unlimited access to the Topolla theater, Monotoli can go backstage whenever he likes...and hey, if you ever want an autograph or something just mention to the dressing room man that you're a friend of ours and he'll let you through."

"Well, thanks I guess." Erick said.

"Anyway, you three need a lift somewhere?" Gorgeous asked. "We were on our way back to Twoson for a bit you guys wanna come with?"

"Well, we do need to go back to Threed." Sarah said. "Could you maybe take us there."

"Sure thing, hop on the bus."

**(Later that night)**

Sarah walked out onto the balcony of the hotel room the three were staying in. She sat down on one of the two chairs outside. She had been having problems trying to fall asleep. She just couldn't take her mind off what Pokey had said to her about Moon. She refused to believe that what he said was true, but deep down, she knew that it was.

"Sarah?"

Moon took a seat next to her on the other chair. Despite how much time had passed, he still didn't look or feel all that well. He barely ate any of his burger that the three of them bought for dinner, his skin was very pale, and he just felt really cold at times.

"Sarah...is something wrong?" he asked.

Sarah bit down on her own lip. How was she supposed to talk to him about this. More importantly, what would happen if she did? The whole situation scared her.

"Sarah?" Moon took her hand, his skin felt clammy and cold. She immediately withdrew her hand from his, just because of how uncomfortable it felt.

"S-Sarah?" Moon's voice was at a low point. She turned her face to him and saw him in tears.

"Sarah...I'm sorry...please...don't be mad...I'm sorry I let Dark Moon take control...I'm so sorry...I wasn't thinking...I just panicked...losing you scared me...without you...I was in too much pain to even think straight...I'm sorry Sarah...I'm really sorry." he looked down so he wasn't looking at her. "Without you Sarah...I'm weak...I'm hopeless...I'm a failure."

"Moon you-"

"I know, I messed up!" he cried. "I'm sorry Sarah."

"Moon...I'm not mad...I understand that you panicked...I probably would've done the same if I were you." Sarah responded as calmly as she could.

"T-then...wh-what's wrong?" Moon asked. "Please Sarah, what is bothering you?"

Sarah locked eyes with him. Even though he looked absolutely horrible, even though he was probably afraid of whatever she would tell him, he still wanted to know. It gave her a tiny bit of confidence, maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought.

"Moon...when I was with Pokey, he said something that bothered me."

Moon drew in a breath, his eyes were full of fear. "Wh-what did he say?"

"Moon...did Pokey know about your dark side?" Sarah asked.

"No, he doesn't know, like I said Sarah, no one other than you...and now Erick, do."

"Well, he knows now." Sarah said. "Moon, he's working with Giygas, he knows about our dark sides."

Moon looked down. "So, I guess you know then," he said. "You know that we share a soul with Giygas?"

"Wha-what? You...You knew?" Sarah asked. "You knew that we shared a soul with him from the start?"

"I've known for a long time." Moon responded. "The coffee cup I had at Saturn Valley told me that my connection with the enemy was deeper than I first thought. So, I just made the assumption that Dark Moon was that connection."

"So...why didn't you tell me?"

"I...I wasn't sure with my assumption. Plus, I didn't want to scare you Sarah."

"Well...Moon, he told me something else." Sarah said. "He...he said that Giygas squeezed all the good emotions out of you when you were younger. Is it true that...you have no happiness? No love for me...is that true?"

Moon looked like he had just been punched in the stomach. For a long time he just looked at her, she could tell that he was contemplating on how he wanted to tell her this.

"Yes...it's true Sarah." he said quietly.

Sarah looked down, grief overcoming her."S-S-so...all those times you said you loved me, all the affection you've ever given me, it hasn't been out of love? You've been doing this just make me happy? You...You really don't l-l-love me?" She asked as she felt tears ready to start flowing out of her.

"No...No Sarah. No it's not like that." Moon said quickly. He grabbed both of her hands. "Sarah, it's not like that...Sarah...look at me...please just look at me."

She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to even think about him. All she wanted was to be left alone to cry. Everything around her began to fade as darkness overcame her.

"Sarah, it's not what you think. I swear." Moon cried. "I do love you Sarah, I really do! You're the only person I care about! Sarah please, look at me, please don't cave into your assumptions, if you do...we both lose our control. Please Sarah, look at me."

In front of him Sarah began to change. Her dress and ribbon turned to black, her skin became more of a shadowy color, and her eyes were red. Then she went back to her normal look. Her dress became purple, her ribbon became blue, her eyes went back to blue, and her skin was back to a lightish tan. She kept flickering between her normal appearance and her shadow dark side appearance.

Moon grabbed her and pulled her close to him wrapping her in a tight hug. "SARAH PLEASE!" he cried. "STOP SARAH! PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU! YOU'VE GOT TO STOP! FIGHT HER! PLEASE SARAH!"

Sarah found herself staring at her dark side. Her evil smile with her blood red eyes were leering her down.

"How does it feel Sarah?" she asked. "To know that your boyfriend doesn't love you?

"_Sa-h"_ she heard a voice calling her,

"_Sar-h...Fight her! PLEASE SARAH! Come back to me! PLEASE!"_

"You wasted so much time showing someone how you felt, and he doesn't even feel the same way about you! Damn, what a giant slap in the face am I right?"

"YOU DID THIS TO HIM!" Sarah shouted back. "You took away his feelings! You're the reason he's like this!"

Dark Sarah frowned. "I'm your dark side Sarah, I never touched him, I've been a part of you since you were a baby."

"YOU WERE TRANSFERRED INTO ME GIYGAS!" Sarah shouted.

Dark Sarah frowned. "Okay let's get two things straight." her cold voice hissed. "Number one, the name Giygas is irrelevant to me, I don't see myself as a part of Giygas anymore. I'm a part of you. Secondly, I wasn't transferred, I was awakened. Part of my soul exists in both you and Moon, it has ever since you two were babies. I was able to get ahold of Moon and corrupt him very easily, but for some stupid reason, I couldn't spread myself to corrupt you."

Sarah looked at her darkside, her stare was sickening, the sight of her made her angry. Giygas was the sole reason she was loving someone who couldn't love her back. She felt herself getting angier with each passing second.

"Thankfully, when your inevitable adventure came around, I was given the opportunity to awaken myself within you. Because you and Moon share a soul with me, you two can corrupt objects, people, and animals simply by touching them and concentrating on them. Unfortunately, I had squeezed too much out of Moon to make him concentrate on kissing you, so I just did it myself."

"_SARAH FIGHT HER! SARAH PLEASE, I LOVE YOU!"_

Sparks began to fly of Sarah's hand. "Moon needs me!" she said. "He does love me! Deep down, he does love me! I love him! HE LOVES ME!" She shouted.

"No he doesn't, I squeezed all the goodness out of him, what he feels to you is something he doesn't even understand!"

"NO! HE LOVES ME! HE NEEDS ME!" Sarah shouted as her hand started erupting sparks and flashing brightly. "He loves me! I know he does! I'll always be there for him! He'll always be there for me! No matter what happens, we'll always love each other! You can't take that away from us."

"But I have, he can't love...and pretty soon, you'll be just like him, the only thing you'll feel is a deep rooted connections towards each other...and that's it."

"PK LOVE!" Sarah screamed.

Multi-colored beams of light shot off of her hand. Dark Sarah was stuck by the beams. She didn't flinch or take any sort of damage.

"Pathetic." she said harshly. "It's gonna take way more than that to stop me."

Sarah felt something in her hand. It was a frying pan, she instantly wasted no time and swung it at Dark Sarah. She hit her dark side multiple times, each hit on her dark side sent a shock of pain through her body. Dark Sarah just stood there taking each hit like it was nothing. After a good ten swings she grabbed Sarah's arm. Instantly a burning, stinging pain shook her body.

"Shame, and here I thought you'd prove to be more of a challenge." Dark Sarah hissed, shoving her to the side. "For chosen heroes, you sure are weak."

Sarah made a motion to get back up. She made a short movement and felt resistance, she looked at her side. A shadowy chain had wrapped itself around her arms, legs, and waist.

Dark Sarah teleported in front of her. "Awe, what's wrong?" she asked as Sarah made struggling motions to escape her captivity. "Is wittle Sarah all tied up...in my very grasp...unable to escape?" She smiled evilly as Sarah kept struggling. She picked up the frying pan that was lying next to her and smacked Sarah across the face with it.

"Give it up sweetie." Dark Sarah hissed as she smacked her again. "There's nothing you can do! Not a damn thing!"

Sarah felt sparks shooting all around her. She felt energy begging to be released. Her anger and rage was at an all time high staring at her dark side. The sick, twisted monster had done so much to hinder her feelings...it was infuriating. To be toyed with, poked at, prodded, tortured it was despicable...it was disgusting...it was evil.

"_SARAH PLEASE! PLEASE SARAH COME BACK! FIGHT HER! SARAH PLEASE!"_

Moon's voice rang through her head. She could hear him shouting and sobbing as he called her name. He needed her, she knew that he needed her. But she was being held against her will. She couldn't make it to him. Then, the chains around her shattered and she wasted no time.

"PK LOVE!" She screamed.

An explosion went off around her. She could hear cold laughter beginning to fade away...then the world came back to her.

She awoke in a very uncomfortable position. She could feel herself being squeezed in all directions, something, whatever it was, it had a tight hold on her.

"SARAH! PLEASE!"

Moon had her in a tight hug squeezing her so hard that she thought he might shatter a bone in her body. He was crying, and he was crying hard. She could feel parts of her dress being very wet with his own tears as his arms kept ahold of her. She could feel his heart racing it was pounding very hard and very fast.

"SARAH I DO LOVE YOU!" he cried, completely unknowing whether or not she could even hear him. "I DO SARAH! I REALLY DO! PLEASE COME BACK! FIGHT HER!"

Sarah felt herself finding it harder to breathe.

"M-M-Moon...please...let go...of me." she gasped. "I-I-I can't...I can't breathe."

She felt his hug loosen but he didn't let go of her. He just held her close to him as he cried.

"Sarah...it's not what you think." he sniffed. "I do love you...but well...I can't physically love you to the fullest...there's not enough goodness left in my heart for it. So much of it has been corrupted that I can't truly love you...I'm sorry...I do love you Sarah...I know I do. You're the only person I care about."

"Moon come on, you don't have to over exaggerate with me." Sarah said softly. "I can tell you love me. I can tell you care about me."

"But it's just you Sarah." Moon cried. "It's only you! Giygas...Dark Moon, he's squeezed out everything else. I don't love or care about anyone else. Not my family, friends, or anyone else. Dark Moon doesn't harm them for his own dumb reasons, but I don't love them, I only love you Sarah, only you!"

"Moon...please calm down." Sarah said trying to fight back tears of her own. "It's alright, everything will be fine."

"IT WON'T SARAH!" Moon cried as he started to squeeze her again. "It's not fine, it's not. Everyday, I have to fight off the darkness that spreads through me. Each day, I wake up in fear, not knowing whether or not Dark Moon has been in control. Each and every day, I fear that I'll lose the one thing keeping me where I am. I've lost all happiness, all love, all goodness, just trying to keep myself from losing my cool. Pretty soon, you'll be the exact same way. I've turned both of us into monsters!"

Sarah had heard enough. She forced herself out of his hug and kissed him to silence him.

"Moon...you aren't a monster...neither am I." She said after separating from him. "Who cares if we have a problem? I didn't stop loving you when I learned! Erick knows about them and he's still by our side! I'm certain that Dyson will feel the same way."

Moon looked at her. His eyes were sparkling and tears still flowed down his cheeks constantly. "Sarah...I'm sorry...I-"

"You have nothing to be sorry about Moon. None of this is your fault. Listen to me." She grabbed his hands. "You, Me, Erick, and Dyson...we're the chosen heroes. You heard what Tala Rama said. We are the chosen duo that will cleanse all evil! When that happens...we'll have saved the world! There's nothing stopping us! So let's kick some butt! We're going to Winters!"

They heard a knock on the sliding glass door. Erick walked outside next to the two of them.

"Hey you two alright?" he asked. "I heard some shouting and crying...are the two of you okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Moon said. "Just a little side effect to our dark sides...we can sometimes be, more emotional."

"Alright, well we gotta go back to that area you guys were trapped in. So we can fix the sky runner and head to Winters."

The trio walked through the grounds of Threed in the early morning towards the graveyard. When they arrived they saw that the hole still hadn't been repaired or fixed. However, the sky runner was still intact.

"Odd, I thought it got destroyed." Erick said.

The three climbed down the ladder and walked down the pathway towards the door. The sky runner was fully intact. Erick closely examined it.

"Ah here's the problem." he said examining the inside. "The stupid control system isn't plugged in." he plugged the controller in and motioned for Moon and Sarah to get in. The two entered.

"Are you sure you can get us to Winters safely?" Moon asked.

"Have some faith in me Moon." Erick responded. "I can fix lasers, machines, and blow stuff up safely. Of course I can fly a machine!"

"Only cause we're in a video game." Sarah snapped.

Erick facepalmed again. "You two have really gotta stop. This isn't a video game!"

"Whatever, let's just get going." Moon said. "We've got a friend waiting for us."

The sky runner lifted itself into the air and began to speed off into the distance. As they rode, Moon took out the sound stone.

"I've been seeing visions in the sanctuaries." he said looking at the stone. "What do they mean?"

"You too?" Sarah asked. "I've seen myself as a baby, and my mother telling me to be a strong, caring girl."

The two looked at each other. Both completely oblivious to the obvious answer. Both knew that they'd always have each others back. Things could change between them...maybe...just maybe...Moon could learn to love.

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, I made it as long as I possibly could stretch. Next chapter is most likely going to end off with the transition to Dalaam and so forth. Other than that, there isn't much else to say. Leave a comment letting me know what you like, and I'll see you next chapter.**


	20. Bound By Earth: Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Winters and Summers Time**

After about an hour or so of flying. The trio finally made it to Winters. The sky runner came to a halt above a gray laboratory with a huge satellite on the top. It slowly lowered onto the floor of the laboratory and the door clicked open.

The trio exited the sky runner as two pink monkeys, one with a red bow on its head, ran up to them. They both had a metallic collar around their necks. The monkey without a bow let out a cheer before hopping onto Erick's shoulder.

"Hey Bubble, nice to see you again!" Erick said patting it on the head.

"Nice to see you again Erick." The monkey responded. "I managed to seal the deal with her. We're newlyweds now!"

"That's really great."

"Your father has been taking good care of us." The female monkey said. "I must thank you for taking care of my husband, because of you I met the man of my dreams."

"Well we better get going." Bubble said. "We're still newlyweds after all." both monkeys hopped off and out the door.

"Well, okay then." Moon said watching the monkeys leave. "So, where is your father Erick?"

"I uh...I don't know." Erick said looking around. "I know he's a wandering scientist so he could probably be out doing research somewhere else."

"Your father is at Stonehenge Erick."

A girl with long, light brown hair, walked down the staircase from the upstairs. She gave Erick a smile upon seeing them. Erick went bright red as she approached the three of them.

"Gio...Giovanna?" Erick stuttered. "What are...what are you doing here?"

"Silly, did you forget what the reward was for winner of the science fair this year?"

"Oh, uh, that's right...I completely forgot that the winner got to visit Dr. Andonuts for a week...hang on a second, Maxwell wins every single year...how on earth did you beat him?"

"Well...I didn't technically beat him." Giovanna responded. "I sort of...won for him. You see, he got sick the day of the science fair...and he asked me to submit the project for him under my name…Just so he'd know whether or not he would've won."

"Leave it to Maxwell to find someway to win even if he can't." Erick said rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, are these the two you went and rescued?" Giovanna asked noticing Moon and Sarah just sitting down near a window. "Are you going to introduce me to them?"

"Oh...uh...right...I completely forgot." Erick said.

The two of them walked over to both of them sitting down by the window. Giovanna let out a gasp upon getting a closer look at them.

"Oh my god! You rescued Sarah Polestar?" She asked in disbelief. "You're Sarah, the girl from Twoson...the one who can do all sorts of magic?"

"Guilty." Sarah responded. "Nice to meet you Giovanna, Erick's told us a bit about you."

"So...that makes you Moon?" Giovanna asked looking at him. "Funny, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before...where are you from?"

"Onett." Moon responded dully.

For a brief second he noticed that her eyes turned to a bit worrisome. She also backed up a little from him.

"_Uh oh, seems like she may know about the incident."_

"Shut it." Moon hissed taking a step towards her. He knew what he had to do at this point.

"Nice to meet you." he said looking at Giovanna and extending a hand out to her.

Her reluctance to shake his hand told him everything he needed to know. Concentrating on her, he watched a tiny bit of a shadowy light moved from his hand to hers. The light moved up to her head before disappearing. Then he whispered in a voice so low that no one could hear him.

"_You don't recognize me, You don't know anything about me or Onett. Nothing at all."_

The shadowy light came back onto her head before slowly making its way down back to his hand. He let go of her hand, the burnette blinked, then she shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I sorta spaced out there for a second...must've been my mistake...you don't look all that familiar."

Moon let out a silent sigh of relief.

"_I'll be damned, did you just use me to corrupt her memory? You haven't done that in...well...a very long time. You call yourself a hero using me to do crap like that? Is that really something a hero would do? Corrupt the mind of another?"_

"For the better." Moon muttered to himself. "It's for the better." he looked at his right hand, he could see that it was shadowy black while his other hand was still light tan. He frowned to himself, thankful that no one else could see what he saw. "Your, corruption has been running through me so much recently...Never have I been so thankful to have taken so much of that cleanser with me." he looked down at Sarah's hand. Much like his, her right hand was also a shadowy black color.

"_Well, what are you gonna do about this? Unless you give her that cleanser in the next hour or so, she'll be able to see it too. Then what are you gonna do? You can't let that corruption continue to spread."_

Moon shook his head clearing his thoughts from his dark side.

"Moon? You good?" Erick asked.

"Yeah...just uh...just thinking."

The door swung open and a man with a lab coat walked in. he wore glasses like Erick, had hazel brown eyes, and had split edged white hair.

"Oh...Erick...you surprised me!" the man said taking notice to the four of them. "You're Sarah Polestar...and I guess you're Moon aren't you?" He asked looking at the two of them.

"Yeah that's us." Moon said.

"Great deal of joy!" the Dr. Andonuts said. "I've been waiting to meet the two of you, you both go beyond the reason of science ! I've always wanted to research your strange powers."

"DAD!" Erick shouted going red again. "They aren't lab rats...they're my friends. They don't need to put up with your research...we've got to save the world!"

"Yes, Yes, Of course." Dr. Andonuts said glumly. "What brings you back to Winters then?"

"We need to get to Summers." Sarah said. "But we couldn't get the Sky runner to go there."

"Ah not a problem! I can program that hunk of junk in a jiffy...in the meantime though, you guys should check out that cave to the north of Stonehenge. Apparently there's a place called Rainy Circle, it's got some weird properties that makes other humans unable to get close to it. Perhaps you three could?"

"Sounds like another sanctuary!" Moon said clapping his hands together. "Let's go claim it now!"

Giovanna's eyes sparkled. "Oh boy you guys are really going to Rainy Circle? That place is supposedly guarded by some huge scary monster! Can I come?"

Erick looked like he was going to collapse. "Seriously? No you can't come!" he said. "These monsters are all really dangerous! You could get hurt, or worse, killed."

"Oh come on! I wanna come with you!"

Erick looked at Moon and Sarah with a frown. Moon shrugged, "Giovanna, these monsters are guarding these places from us. Whatever we fight will most likely go after me or Sarah, very rarely has something gone after Erick...but just for safety reasons, it's best that you stay here."

The burnette looked slightly crestfallen at his response. "Alright then," she said sadly. "I guess I'll stay here...but uh actually, before you go." she leaned in and kissed Erick on his cheek. The genius blushed heavily as Sarah snickered. "Good luck Erick, kick whatever you're up against where it hurts." She walked over towards the sky runner and began to look at it.

Erick stayed put, touching the place he had been kissed. Then Sarah slapped him on his back.

"Good for you." she said teasingly. "Now you don't have to be embarrassed whenever Moon and I are doing our thing."

"Knock it off." Erick muttered. "Let's just get going."

The trio walked outside into the snow covered land of Winters. Erick was used to the cold climate having lived here his whole life, Moon wore a hoodie everywhere he went. Sarah on the other hand started shivering. She was wearing nothing more than her usual dress.

"Damn it...why didn't I pack a jacket?" she asked furiously.

Moon took off his hoodie, revealing his scarred arms and handed it to Sarah. "Wear it, I insist." he said.

Sarah nodded and put it on over her dress. The three walked north passed the stone circular structure.

"This is Stonehenge." Erick said. "It's rumored that Aliens often visit here to pay tribute or experiment on others."

"Well let's hope none of those aliens are Giygas' cronies." Moon responded dully as they moved passed the structure and into the cave.

Mushrooms were sprouted all along the walls and floor of the cave. There were also huge crystals around the area. The outside exit to the cave saw a pond with raindrops falling down it.

DANGER!

In a flash of white light a giant mushroom stood in front of the three chosen heroes. It's top half red head was covered with yellow spots around the tip. It had a brown steam body with it's blood red eyes piercing through them. It opened its mouth and spoke in a cold voice.

"Welcome Moon, Sarah, Erick...you finally got here. This is the fourth your sanctuary location. But it's mine now! Take it from me. If you dare."

Immediately it scattered spores at the three heroes. They all split up away from the spores to avoid getting caught.

"Like all plants and fungi, this guy's gonna have a bad time with fire." Erick said quickly. "Sarah you know what to do!"

Shroom waved his stem hands around for a bit before directing them at Sarah. Nothing happened at first.

"PK FIRE β!" Sarah shouted. No fire emerged from her hand. Shroom swung it's stem arm claw at her throwing her across the cave into a crystal. Moon let out a hiss of irritation at that. He made a swinging motion with his bat sticking shroom in the lower parts of the stem. The monster paid no attention to him and simply flicked him off of using its claw.

"PK Flash β!" A bunch of white light flashed off of Moon. The mushroom didn't seem to take any sort of effect from it. It grabbed Moon with its claw and flung him over at Sarah. The two collided with each other head on. Shroom spat spores at both of them, small mushrooms grew on both of their heads and their eyes became distorted.

Erick had been shooting his own laser at the Shroom, the beams hit without doing much damage.

"Wow you three are really...pathetic." it hissed. "You...Erick simply can't defeat me on your own without your friends...both of whom are now...well."

Erick looked over at his friends. Both Moon and Sarah were now unleashing attacks at each other. Sparks, light, fire, and ice flew all over the place hitting both of them several times.

"GUYS STOP!" Erick shouted.

Both of them ignored him and kept unleashing PSI attacks at one another.

"PK ROLLIN β!"

"PK LOVE!"

Both multi colored attacks flashed brightly and lasers struck both of them knocking them across the cave. The giant mushroom laughed evilly. "Both of them have no clue what's going on...they still think they're attacking me!"

"PK Earth!"

A dark blue knight statue formed out of thin air. After forming into existence that statue charged at Sarah slashing her across the face with it's sword. Sarah countered back by unleashing a fire spell at him. A huge wave of fire shot down onto Moon as the Shroom merely chuckled.

"I believe they've weakened each other enough now." Shroom hissed as its stem claws extended towards both of them. Erick watched in horror as the claws pierced through both of their skin in several places on their arms, legs, and faces. Shroom lifted both of them up, then flung them at Erick. The three chosen heroes collided with each other and fell to the ground as a motionless pile.

"Master Giygas will be most proud of me." Shroom hissed. "To think I actually managed to stop you dead in your tracks after you dealt with the first three sancturary bosses with such ease. One more hit from my stem claws will certainly take you three out."

"Hey Shroom face!"

The giant mushroom turned to see a girl with long light brown hair standing by the exit of the cave. "Leave them alone." the girl said furiously.

"No, no I don't think I will." the monster hissed sticking it's claws closer to them. "You are a mere child who isn't a part of the prophecy, how could you possibly stop me?"

"With the C4 bomb I planted on you." Giovanna said casually.

"What? Where?"

Giovanna held up a little remote button. "THERE!" she shouted pressing it.

Instantly a giant explosion blew the mushroom monster into pieces. Giovanna stood still for a moment before running over to the three heroes. She pushed a bleeding Moon and Sarah off of Erick before helping him to his feet.

"Giovanna...wow...when did you have time to plant a C4 bomb?" Erick asked in shock. "More importantly...where did you get a C4?"

"Everyone's got their own secrets." the girl giggled. "Come on, let's get your friends back to the laboratory so we can heal their injuries."

Erick shook his head. "Actually, the sanctuary location heals them." he said pointing out towards the exit cave that Shroom was guarding. "We can just put them in there and they'll be fine."

"Oh...okay then." she helped Erick move the unconscious duo into the sanctuary. When the two of them finished they sat down near the cave exit. "Erick, what the heck happened Moon's arms?"

"Uh, he said something about being a very accident prone child." Erick responded.

"Really? I don't know, they seem kind of like they were self inflicted with some sort of blade."

"Listen, Moon is a...well...a bit weird." Erick said. "He doesn't really talk to anyone all that much, except for Sarah...and...he's uh...pretty protective. Like, he can heal us easily...but uh, he's almost never had to use it on us. Everything we fight mainly goes after him, sometimes they'll attack Sarah, but they almost never go for me. When whatever we fight actually does try to attack me or Sarah...he uh...kinda goes full sacrificial hero mode on us."

"So uh, what exactly are you fighting?" Giovanna asked.

"That's...a long story." Erick said. "Where do I even begin?"

Moon and Sarah awoke in the middle of a snowy area. There was a pond in the center with raindrops falling down on top of it. The second they stood up they both heard a soothing melody play for them. They both caught the smell of cake...but only for a second. The two let out a sigh of relief before taking each others hand and turning around. Erick and Giovanna were sitting by the entrance to the cave, Erick was tinkering with the broken tube he had found in the monkey caves. Giovanna was holding the bag of blue powder Moon had found.

"Finally, you two were out like lights." Erick muttered when he noticed them both standing. "Though I guess it makes sense, you two did attack each other and then get flung at me."

"I don't remember a damn thing since we started that fight with the mushroom." Sarah responded.

"It's best that way." Giovanna said. "You two beat each other pretty bad...Anyway, Moon...where did you get this?" she asked giving the bag back to him.

"I uh, I found it. Why do you ask?"

"Well you've got a pretty rare material in your hands...It's called Dragonite, when the powder is sprinkled on ones head they will temporarily transform into a giant fire breathing dragon."

"Awesome, I'll be sure to save that for an emergency." Moon said taking the bag from her.

"I'm sure Dr. Andonuts has finished remodeling the Sky Runner." Giovanna said looking at the suns position. "You three should probably get going...speaking of which...why are you going to Summers?"

"Oh um...our fourth friend. His name is Dyson, we're supposed to meet him there." Erick said. "Then we've gotta continue our quest to defeat Giygas. Do uh, do you know where we could find him?"

"No sorry, no one named Dyson went to my school before I got transferred. You'll have to ask around."

"Well then, me might as well get going. No need to keep him waiting." Sarah said.

The four walked through the cave and past the construction of Stonehenge. As they passed Moon felt a huge rush of dark energy surge through the area. He suddenly had a vision.

A sapphire bladed sword, with an emerald hilt was laying on the ground of a weird laboratory. There were two voices ringing through the area.

"_Destroy it...Destroy that stupid sword." _a cold voice hissed.

"_Master we can't."_ A robotic voice beeped back. "_Saphria is indestructible, you requested it be designed that way."_

"_Fine then. Just seal off this section of Stonehenge...make sure that no one...and I mean no one...can ever accidentally stumble upon this."_

"Moon?"

Moon shook his head. Sarah was standing in front of him. Well...sort of. Her hands were both shadowy black and parts of neck were starting to become that shadow color as well. Despite being covered by his hoodie, Moon knew that her dress was also black and her legs were also the shadowy color as well. His instincts went into panic mode. He instantly went back to his backpack and pulled out a glass bottle with a light blue liquid inside capped off by a cork.

"Sarah...could you uh...could you drink this please." he asked nervously as he handed it to her.

"What...why?" Sarah asked.

Moon bit down on his lip he quickly looked around and saw that Erick and Giovanna had disappeared from sight. He took a deep breath.

"Um...it's for your darkside." he said quietly. "It's just a little medicine that keeps them at bay for a bit. I just...I just have a bad feeling that something is going to happen soon...so could you please just drink it?"

Sarah nodded and undid the cork from the bottle. She took one sip from it and lowered it immediately with a disgusted look on her face.

"What the hell is this?" She asked. "Why is it so bitter?"

"It tastes bitter for a bit, but if you continue it gets better...I promise."

Sarah reluctantly nodded and slowly glugged the entire bottle down before handing it back to Moon. The shadow color had disappeared from her neck and arms. Moon gave a silent sigh of relief. Sarah handed his hoodie back to him before the two entered back into Dr. Andonut's laboratory.

Erick, Giovanna, and Dr. Andonuts were all sitting down around the table having a cup of hot coacco. When Moon and Sarah entered the lab Dr. Andonuts got up and walked over to the two of them. "I've finished remodeling the sky runner." he said casually. "You may leave for Summers whenever you wish, take care of yourselves now...I must get back to my research. Giovanna has provided a great deal of help and it would be best to keep at it before she must return to the Winters boarding school so please do make haste." the doctor then left them to go upstairs.

"I see why you don't talk about him much." Moon said to Erick after he had left.

"Yeah, he's weird like that...anyway, what took you two so long?"

"Oh uh, I just got another part of my precognition."

"Don't you mean premonition?" Giovanna interrupted. "Erick talked about it with me, it seems like you have more a premonition then precognition. Seeing as how all your future visions with exception of the book and those children have indicated disasters."

"Well in any event...I just got a vision about a weird sword. Sapphire bladed with and emerald hilt."

Sarah hitched in a breath. Every step they took seemed to be leading closer and closer to their inevitable future with their darksides.

"Weird...well...we should probably get going." Erick said, glancing at the clock. It's only an hour flight to Summers from here so we might as well get going." Moon and Sarah nodded and climbed into the Sky runner. Before Erick could get in Giovanna grabbed him and spun him around to face her. Before he could say anything she planted a kiss on his lips.

"Stay safe." she said after separating from him. "You, Moon, Sarah, and Dyson...the four of you will stop Giygas...I know you will...just please be careful."

Erick smiled and gave her a hug. "I will," he said. "I promise."

**(Summers)**

The trio flew over a port town and saw a beach below their eyes. Relieved at the fact they were finally their they each let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly, the sky runner began to shake and sputter.

"Ah crap, here we go again." Erick muttered.

"Why is it that you don't use swear words again?" Sarah asked as the machine started to lower.

"It's in his contract." Moon responded.

"Is now really the time for this nonsense?" Erick snapped as the machine touched the ground and the three heroes got out of it.

KA-BOOM!

The machine suddenly exploded into pieces.

"Damn, good thing we got off of it...otherwise, we'd be dead. Anyway, back to the plot! Let's find Dyson. He's supposed to be bald with the exception of a black braided ponytail, and wears a karate outfit. Sounds easy enough to pick out of a crowd if you ask me."

The trio walked along the beach trying to look for him. Their description lead them nowhere. But they did get a few comments from some rather jerkish and probably drunk people.

"Dudes, you're like...totally killing the atmosphere with your super serious attitudes." A man with blue swim trunks said. Other beach residents started to chime in.

"Yeah go away! You're totally ruining our fun in the sun!"

"If you want adventure go to Scaraba using the Toto port!" a man snapped.

"At this point, I don't know whether these people are drunk, crazy, under Giygas' influence, or actually trying to be helpful!" Moon whispered as they climbed up the stairs into the city of Summers.

Danger!

Out of nowhere a Taxi car sped by the three heroes spewing exhaust fumes at the three.

"What the goddamn hell was that for?" Moon coughed.

The taxi then spun around in the middle of the street and charged at the three heroes.

"Shield β!"

A wall of light sprung up in front of him as the taxi collided with it. Then, as if the shield was made of rubber, the taxi was flung back across the road where it toppled into a sign and exploded.

"Well, we just killed whoever was driving that." Erick said. "We should probably get out of here."

The trio continued their search. They checked the Scaraba Cultural Museum, which didn't offer much in terms of their search considering that the second floor was closed off.

"Well is there really anywhere else we could find this kid?" Erick asked sheepishly as they walked out of the museum. "Seriously, he's supposed to be special and no one in this stupidly big tourist attraction of a city knows who he is."

"Well supposedly we can check out the Stoic club." Moon said as they walked by the club. "Only problem is that you need to make a reservation...using the phone number."

"Uh huh, well, with nowhere else to check, we could technically check Toto port I guess."

The trio walked east towards the port town of Toto. Along the way they saw a sign, Moon noticed that there was graffiti on the sign welcoming them to the town. One was a spray painted phone number with the words: Stoic club number written next to it. The other, was a poorly written message from a person Moon knew all too well.

_Moon's can eat my shorts! For a neighbor and bodyguard...he's a loser! By the way, if you do read this Moon...you may wanna check your girlfriend's backpack! Good luck getting yourself out of this mess idiot!_

"Sarah...give me your backpack."

"What-why?"

"Now!"

Sarah took off her backpack and handed it to him. Moon opened it and fished through until he hit a loose piece of paper. He withdrew it and opened it.

_Moon, or Sarah. It really doesn't matter, Spankety!_

_Anyway, good luck returning home after your stupid adventure Moon. All of Onett knows your secret...They know about Olive and what you did...so congratulations...your life is now and forever will be...completely ruined. I warned you to stay loyal long ago, but you've obviously had enough of that...and Sarah, if you're reading this...then congratulations...you're dating a killer!_

Never had he been so thankful to be a swift reader and have kept the paper away from both Sarah and Erick. He silently folded the letter up so it became small enough then in a flash, ate it.

"Moon? What did it say?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing important." Moon growled. "It was just a taunt for us...claims that Giygas is going to kill us and he'll be the new evil overlord. Come on...let's just...find Dyson."

The three called the Stoic club using a payphone on the side of the street. Then they walked towards the club. Inside of the club was pretty boring, just a bunch of people hanging around a bunch of tables while a rock was shown onstage. The rock was about as plain as it could be, it was surrounded by a velvet rope on all sides with people staring at it. They all talked using big nonsensical words. The only person who didn't seem to belong there was a woman with blonde hair and a poofy pink dress.

"I've finally awakened my true self in this club." the woman said when the three approached her. "The patrons of this club are able to stare into their own souls hard enough to burn a hole in their psyche. I'm now comfortable enough to stare at the real me, the true self, and burn the impression into my super-ego! I want to be in this comfort zone at any time, all the time, or at no time. My id is telling me."

"Okay then, this place is clearly of no use to us then." Erick grumbled.

"Really? I think this place is perfect for someone like you!" Sarah said teasingly.

"Shut it."

"Damn this place is such a bust." Moon grumbled looking around. Suddenly, his stomach growled on the inside. "Damn, I could really go for some cake right about now."

"What? Cake? You want some cake?" the woman said. "Well, I happen to make a very special cake called Magic Cake! Would you like to try some?"

"Uh, sure why not?" Moon said shrugging.

"Come and stop by the little cart on the beach later if you would." the lady said getting up and running out of the club.

The three walked out of the club and towards the beach cart. The woman stood by an empty food cart. "I don't know who told you." the woman said. "But you came from far off just to eat my Magic Cake? I thought making cakes would be the best career for me...anyway. Dig in! I used all leftover materials, this is a very special Magic cake." she said handing Moon a slice of funny looking chocolate cake.

Moon took one bite from the cake and instantly had a strange vision

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter. School year really picked up quickly but I managed to make things work out and get this one up. If I'm lucky, since the Dalaam section is going to be a one off short chapter, we should have another chapter up by next week. Anyway, after the next chapter I'll actually include a bit of trivia about my six main OCs, I think you'll find it to be quite interesting. Anyway, see you next chapter!  
**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Dalaam's Hero.**

**(Dalaam, in the Far East, Palace of Dyson, The Crown Prince)**

A boy with fairly tanish skin wearing a karate uniform with a black belt tied around his waist, emerald green eyes, and an almost completely bald head, save for a black braided ponytail in the center sat on a throne inside of his palace. Next to him sat his wife, Petra, a girl with chocolate brown hair and eyes, she wore a yellow dress gown which had been fitted for her upon their arranged marriage.

"How much longer must we wait Dyson?" Petra asked him after a moment of silence. "You've been preparing for so long to meet the other three heroes, and yet, we've gotten no word on when you're supposed to meet them."

The young prince let out a sigh. "I don't know Petra," he responded. "Master Yee-soo-chi says that I meet the heroes when my training is complete...for all we know, it could be another month, maybe even a year."

"How much more could possibly be left for you to learn? You've already learned the forbidden Starstorm technique, You've mastered your Cyrokinesis and Electrokinesis alongside your healing powers! What's stopping you from just going out and looking for them?"

Dyson had to let out a laugh at her comment. Petra was by no means fit to be a princess, she was impatient and often times outgoing. Most girls in Dalaam were always more prim and proper and often times quite reserved. Petra on the other hand would rather use her crossbow to practice archery outside the palace and, before their marriage, would often times get into trouble with the royal guards.

"I'm confident that I will meet the chosen heroes soon Petra." Dyson responded. "Yee-soo-chi said after I was taught to master the forbidden Starstorm technique, that it was almost time for me to meet the others. I'm confident that day will come soon."

"Prince Dyson!"

Another man with an almost bald head with the exception of his hair being all around the side of his head walked into the room. He had a white beard and, like Dyson, wore a karate uniform.

The young prince stood up and bowed to the man. "Yes Master Yee-soo-chi?"

"Prince Dyson, the time has come for you to undertake your final trial. The sacred Mu training, you must go to the Place of Emptiness and endure this final test! I am praying for your success in this final stage of training."

"Damn, speak of the devil."

"PRINCESS PETRA!" Yee-soo-chi scolded. "What have we told you about saying stuff like that? It is not proper for you to act that way!"

Dyson had to fight down his own laughter at how unruly this whole situation was. Everyone thought that his picking of Petra to be his wife was crazy. Many workers in the royal palace often worked head over heels tending to her needs and trying to make her act like a proper princess.

"Anyway, what is this last stage in training requiring of me Master Yee-soo-chi?" The young prince asked with some curiosity.

The man frowned. "I am not allowed to speak of that to you Prince Dyson, but it is a requirement in your process of becoming a prince. Just go to Mu, the place of emptiness, I will know when you have completed your training."

"Of course Master Yee-soo-chi!" Dyson said bowing. "I shall do that right away." he kissed Petra goodbye and walked out of the room towards the outside of Dalaam. He walked through the solid gold palace along the red carpet walkway that had always been there. Ever since he was young he had lived in this Palace, he didn't know who his parents were, supposedly they had died protecting the kingdom from some evil invader. He mostly grew up training alongside Yee-soo-chi, who was, in a weird sort of way, his godfather.

The young prince exited the castle into the sunny morning of Dalaam. As he expected, there were many young women outside of the palace who instantly let out screams of joy and happiness. Despite already being married, the young prince was still very attractive and many young women in Dalaam would often times fawn over him.

"Oh prince Dyson!" One woman said, blushing heavily. "You're my favorite!"

"Prince Dyson, are you not in training today?" Another woman asked. "You never have the time to play with us anymore!"

"Sorry...but I must continue my training, afterall, I need to meet the other chosen heroes." the young prince announced. "Please, allow me to pass."

The women all separated giving him a clear path down the sort of hilly town of Dalaam. Despite being a floating island in the sky, the town was still hilly for some strange reason. The young prince walked down the town, passing the residents of Dalaam quietly. Dalaam was a fairly quaint town. Despite the royal palace being made out of Gold, Silver, and Ivory. The rest of the village was fairly simple. Little stone cottages with straw roofs made up the small population that Dalaam was.

One man stopped the young prince on his way down. "I've heard that you are on your last leg of training Prince Dyson." the man said. "Just know that the entirety of Dalaam will always have your back no matter how serious the situation gets."

"Thank you sir." the young prince responded.

The young prince made his way to the bottom of the island. At the bottom there was a split path, one path led to a small cave with amethyst columns surrounding the entrance. In front of the entrance, stood three black bunny statues. The area was known as the Pink Cloud, according to legend, only the chosen heroes were able to access the area and tap into its power.

Dyson shrugged to himself. He had been training his whole life to fulfill the prophecy, the one that told of three other children being able to come together and stop an evil overlord. He was one of the kids and he hoped that the other three were well prepared for the adventure ahead. After all, he had been training since he was young. He wasn't one of the two chosen heroes, but he was merely a helper who would help them defeat Giygas.

He took the path to the right which led to a tall hill with a rope attached to the bottom for him to climb up. Right next to the rope a sign was hung which read.

"_Welcome, this is Mu, the place of nothingness. People who train here must first clear everything from their mind. Ignoring all outside distractions. If you can make your mind blank and learn the true meaning of "Mu," you'll pass through. Mu is Mu."_

Right in front of the rope stood a shabby looking old man wearing a tattered gray robe. He used a cane to walk and was completely bald with a gray moustache. He was also bare feet as well. Dyson approached the man eagerly. This was the Star master, the same man who had taught him the forbidden Starstorm Technique. He was a little forgetful sometimes, but he was a wise man.

"You have nice eyes." the man said when Dyson approached him. "You must be Prince Dyson."

"I am Prince Dyson. It is very nice to see you again Star master." Dyson said bowing.

"As formal as always," the man said. "Long ago, I too completed the Mu Training. I want to show you a higher level of intelligence...However, I'm still realizing and learning this high level...I shall see you again when you are with the chosen heroes. So long Prince Dyson, and good luck with your training."

The man vanished with a flash as mini tornado came out of nowhere sending if off into the distance.

Dyson took a deep breath before firmly grabbing the rope ladder and climbing up it.

He reached the top of the hill. It was a very small area around him. He sat down and began to meditate, a few minutes into his meditation, a young woman approached him from the side pathway.

"Prince Dyson!" The woman said quickly. "I am a messenger from your master! He sent me to tell you that you must stop your meditation immediately. The Princess has fallen ill and may be on her deathbed. Prince Dyson! You must comeback with me instead of staying in a place such as this! Your master wishes it...Please rise, Prince."

Dyson drew in a breath. Petra had fallen really ill all of a sudden? In the short time he had been gone? That couldn't even be possible.

"Ignore all outside distractions." he told himself. "Petra is fine, your training comes first, do not stress yourself with such a silly thing."

"Your highness, you must give up this trial for now...believe what I say, it is the truth." The woman turned and began to walk towards the palace.

Dyson ignored the woman. He had to focus on his training, he had to ignore all outside distractions. It was the soul thing he was doing, it was for the good of his people, and the world. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his meditation.

**(Mindscape)**

Dyson found himself inside of a voided landscape. It was dark and endless all around him. Startled, the young prince began to look around, it seemed as if he had vanished from Dalaam entirely.

"So, you must be the fourth chosen hero?"

He spun around and was met face to face with an exact look alike of him, the only difference between them was their eye color, the boy in front of him had brown eyes like Petra, while he had green.

"No need to be startled." the boy said. "I'm you...from a different timeline, I'm merely here to guide you on your journey...offer assistance whenever necessary. The same applies to the other chosen heroes. My name is Poo, nice to meet you."

"My name is Dyson...pleasure to meet you." Dyson responded. "But uh...is...is this supposed to be my Mu training?"

"No, I'm merely interrupting your training...time will resume after I've finished here...I hope."

"So uh, what should I expect from my Mu training?"

"You'll get the hang of it...it's just a few requests make sure you accept everything."

"Oh that doesn't sound too hard...have you met my friends? Could you tell me what they're like? Where we're supposed to go?"

"I can tell you to go to the museum in Summers when you meet your friends. As for the rest, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise...good luck Dyson." With that, Poo vanished out of sight.

Dyson shrugged and turned around. Out of nowhere a ghostly image flashed in front of him. Then it became a solid image, there was now a floating ghost whose shape resembled that of a chili pepper. It had a mouth, goatee, and beard. It had piercing black eyes, and a crooked nose. On the top of it was a black ponytail. It spoke to him in a deep voice.

"Prince Dyson." the ghost said. "I am the spirit of your ancient lineage. To complete your trail, I am going to break your legs. You will lose the use of them. Do you accept this?"

Dyson didn't have time to consider how weird and stupid this was. Trials in Dalaam had prepared him for speed, and hesitation might invoke suspicions.

"Yes." Dyson said. Instantly he shrunk, he looked down and saw that his legs had vanished completely."

"So, Prince Dyson." the ghost continued. "You cannot walk, as your legs are now broken. Next I will tear your arms off...I shall then take your arms and feed them to the crows. The taking of your arms...do you accept this?"

"Yes." Instantly, he felt his arms rip off from his body and watched as they floated towards the ghost before vanishing.

"Ah, Prince Dyson...Without legs and arms, you can only lie there...Now I'll cut your ears off. You do not mind my taking your hearing away, do you? Do you accept this?"

"This has got to be the most messed up training I've ever heard of." Dyson said to himself. "But, I've gotta accept."

"Yes, I do accept."

He saw his ears float towards the ghost, they vanished as well. Then floating letters appeared around the ghost.

(So Prince Dyson. No legs, no arms, and no sound. By floating words through the air, I must ask you...Do you care if I take your eyes? Do you want to live in eternal darkness? I shall steal your sight. Do you accept this?)

"Yes I accept."

Suddenly everything was plunged into darkness. Dyson couldn't see anything, he couldn't hear anything, and he couldn't move. Then he heard the voice speak to him one last time.

(So, Prince Dyson. Now, I can only communicate directly with your mind. Your mind is all you have left...in the end, I will take your mind, though you probably don't want to allow that, do you?)

There was a moment of silence. Dyson realized that he couldn't speak either. It was now him, all alone, trapped forever in eternal darkness.

(So...you can't answer? You can't even move? Are you sad, are you lonely? If you lose your mind, you also lose any feelings of sadness...Do you accept this? I will take your mind, Prince Dyson, know that I will possess it…)

Suddenly, Dyson felt something warm flow through him. Then in a flash the image changed.

Dyson found himself outside of the palace. Confused, he looked around, He saw Master Yee-soo-chi, only, he seemed younger. Then, a younger version of Dyson ran up to him.

"Prince Dyson." Yee-soo-chi said. "Have you managed to find the girl you keep telling me about? The one that you wish to have as your wife?"

"No I can't seem to find her...I know she lives here...but I just can't find her."

The man let out a sigh, "Prince Dyson, I must inform you that if you can't find her within the next few hours, we will be forced to choose someone else...Please just go get the tiara, so we can try and find a different girl for you."

The younger Dyson looked disappointed, "Alright Master." the boy said glumly. The young prince walked into the palace with head hung low.

"Mister Yee-soo-chi?"

The man turned to see another man who wore a bright red outfit with a big red hat, he was holding onto the arm of a younger version of Petra. "It's uh...her...again!"

"For the love of...ugh." Yee-soo-chi groaned. "Why is it that you are the only girl in Dalaam to not act like a lady? Seriously, this is the fourth time this week that you've been brought before me. For what exactly?"

"She broke a window...with her crossbow...again."

"Good grief seriously?" Yee-soo-chi said rubbing his beard. "You've been quite a pain, and if it wasn't for the fact that we live on a floating island, you'd probably be banished from this city. I believe it's time that we let the Prince deal with this problem."

The younger version of Petra went bright red and looked down at her feet.

"Wait...I remember this." Dyson said to himself, watching the whole thing play out.

"Prince Dyson, I require your say in a little conflict." Yee-soo-chi called into the palace.

A few moments later, the younger version of Dyson walked out of the palace, this time, he carried a ruby crested tiara in his hands. The younger Petra looked at him, still red, and very afraid.

"Prince Dyson, this girl has been causing trouble for quite some time now. Here is your first big decision as Prince. What do you think we should do with her?"

The younger Petra went to the ground. "I'm sorry Prince Dyson." she cried. "I'm sorry, please do-"

The younger Dyson placed the tiara he was holding on her head. Then he extended his hand to her.

"Prince Dyson, what the hell do you think your doing?"

"This is her," Dyson said. "She's the one I want, she's the one who I want to be my wife."

"Prince Dyson, she is by no means fit to be a princess, not only that, but she has destroyed three palace windows."

Dyson turned to face Yee-soo-chi and the man. "I don't want a prim and proper wife, we can make accommodations for her."

"Prince Dyson, you can't do this!" the man snapped. "No one here is going to accept her as princess."

"Who cares? I want her to be my wife, I love her for who she is."

Yee-soo-chi took a deep breath. "Very well then, if you want Petra to be your wife, then there is nothing we can do about that. We must accept the prince's decision...Petra, you are expected to be fashioned for a more appropriate attire after your wedding tomorrow, take some time to let it all settle in."

The two men walked back into the palace, leaving the younger Dyson and Petra alone outside.

"Pr-Prince...Prince Dyson?" Petra said in shock. "Y-you want me to marry you?...of all women in Dalaam...you want me to be princess?"

The younger Dyson smiled. "I've seen you around during my training...I don't want someone who's just going to act all prim and proper, I want someone with different interests. Besides, I'm basically doing you a favor, now you can make accommodations for everything you get in trouble for, we can build a small archery section for you to practice with your crossbow. Also, you're the only girl here too not fawn over me every time I've talked to you."

The younger Petra went red. "But, you heard what they said, I'm not fit to be a princess...let alone a queen...I'm not sure I can be your wife."

"Well, technically, you don't really have much of a choice now...once a prince makes up his mind, that's it. So, uh, yeah. Don't worry Petra, you'll get used to life in the palace...you'll enjoy it, I promise."

Then, the entire scene vanished and Dyson felt himself being flung upwards.

**(Reality)**

"Prince Dyson? Prince Dyson!"

Dyson blinked, he found himself back on the top of Mu, a man wearing all red was standing on the cliff area across from it, calling his name.

"Prince Dyson! Master Yee-soo-chi says that you have now completed your training! He is so pleased with you for getting it right on your first try! Hurry now, and return to the palace at once!" the man then walked back towards the palace as well.

"Odd." Dyson said to himself. "Why did I suddenly see a memory about Petra?" Then he remembered what the messenger had said. He wasted no time and sped down the hill and ran back towards the palace.

He dashed through the hall and forced his way into the throne room. Yee-soo-chi and Petra were both still in the room and looked up when he ran in.

"Dyson...Is something wrong?" Petra asked.

The young prince let out a sigh of relief, "I was told you had suddenly became ill...I didn't believe it at first...at least, not until I had gotten a memory about the two of us from that ancient lineage ghost."

Yee-soo-chi took in a deep breath. "Well, Prince Dyson, as you can clearly see, the princess is fine. I am proud of you however, it usually takes a few tries for others to pass Mu training. You have officially completed your Mu training. There is nothing more to teach you from the holy writings."

The young prince was delighted, he had finally finished with his training. After nearly ten long years of training, he was finally finished.

"Prince Dyson, I shall now relay a message to you from Eternity." Yee-soo-chi continued. "As you know, the evil entity that controls all wickedness, known as Giygas, is preparing for the greatest struggle of all time...As you know, the only ones who can challenge these entity, is the existence of a boy and a girl, alongside their two friends."

Dyson nodded. "Yes Master Yee-soo-chi, you have told me this before."

"One named Moon is the leader of the four." Yee-soo-chi continued. "And as you know Prince Dyson, you are one of the two friends to help him and the girl. Now that you have completed your training, you must search out for Moon at once. For all beings, for the earth herself...I pray for growth in the might of the four."

"I must leave now?" the young prince asked in shock. "But, Master, I'm not prepared to leave...I haven't even-"

He was cut off by Petra bringing him a backpack. "Master Yee-soo-chi said you'd have to leave immediately, so...I took the liberty to pack a few things for you, It's just some food and water bottles, and a small ruby, incase you need to buy something along the way."

Dyson smiled. "Thank you, Petra." he said.

"Stay safe Dyson...please." the two shared a kiss goodbye before Dyson turned back to Yee-soo-chi.

"Prince Dyson, take my hand." his master said extending his hand out.

Dyson took Yee-soo-chi's hand and instantly, he got a flash vision of a boy with blonde hair, sapphire blue eyes, who was wearing a blue hoodie and baseball hat, while carrying a bat. He was standing on a beach with a half hearted expression on his face. Instantly, he knew the boy's location, it was in the tourist town of Summers. He also heard a few voices in his head as he heard locks start to break.

"_Shield !"_

"_Teleport ⍺!"_

"_Teleport !"_

"Go now Prince Dyson." Yee-soo-chi said. "The fate of the world depends on it!"

The young prince nodded and concentrated on teleport beta as he began to pick up speed moving a circle. Then he picked up enough speed and shot off into a pink portal, ready to find the three other heroes.

**(Summers)**

Dyson shot out of a pink portal onto the sandy white beaches of Summers. It took him a moment to stop moving but he eventually skidded himself to a halt. He looked around, he had never been outside of Dalaam, so the sights of the world below the sky country marveled him.

"Amazing." he said looking around. Then he shook himself back into place. "Now is not the time for sightseeing." he told himself. "I need to find Moon and then we must head to the museum here in Summers."

He turned around and saw the same boy from his vision, wearing a blue hoodie and hat, with his short blonde hair, and sapphire blue eyes, the boy was sitting on one of the many beach chairs under an umbrella holding the hand of a girl in a purple dress, with a blue ribbon tied into her long golden hair. Right in front of them, on another beach chair, sat a boy with hazel brown eyes, glasses, and black hair. He was tinkering with what looked like a toy gun.

He walked over towards the three kids and tapped the one in the hat on his shoulder. When the boy turned to face him, he got down on one knee and said.

"My name is Dyson, Prince of Dalaam. I am the one who will fight beside you. I am the servant of Moon. I will obey Moon. Moon! My life is in your hands now."

The three kids looked at him in shock. Moon rubbed his eyes for a bit.

"Let me get this straight, you are the prince of an entire country?" he asked.

"Correct!"

Moon took a moment to process this. Then, he sat back down on the beach chair and didn't say a word. He just stared into space. "I'm now responsible for the life of a prince." he said to himself, "First a girl with an overprotective family, then the son of a renowned scientist, and now a freaking prince?"

"Master Moon?"

Moon shook his head, Sarah, Erick, and Dyson were looking at him with confused looks.

"Um...Prince Dyson." Moon said. "I...I uh...I don't really need...actually, I don't want you to be my servant...Also, please don't refer to me as master...I'm much more comfortable going by Moon."

The young prince bowed. "As you wish, friend Moon."

Suddenly, a musical chime began to play. The photo man landed onto the ground holding his camera.

"Ah, the chosen four are finally together, let us celebrate with a commemorative photo. Pictures taken instantaneously, I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself. Okay, get ready for an instant memory, look at the camera. Ready? Say Fuzzy Pickles!"

"Who the hell are you?" Dyson asked.

"Just someone who takes our photo every now and again." Moon said. The chosen four stood in place, Moon with his arm around Sarah. Erick and Dyson on either side of them. The four chosen heroes smiled brightly as the cameraman took their photo.

"Wow what a great photograph it will always bring back the fondest of memories!" The photo man then vanished into thin air.

"Okay, so...now that this is out of the way, what do we do now?" Erick asked.

"A person named Poo told me that after meeting up with you three, we must head to the Scaraba Cultural Museum in Summers." Dyson responded. "So we must make haste and go there now!"

The four chosen heroes walked off the beach of Summers and walked towards the Scaraba Cultural Museum.

The three heroes arrived at the museum where Moon paid for four tickets. The four heroes began to look around the museum, not that there was much in there to begin with.

"Well this place is basically a total bust." Erick said observing the well made caskets of pyramids. "You would think that there would be some sort of clue here to tell us where we need to go on our adventure."

"Perhaps the upstairs has something to offer." Dyson said noticing the staircase.

"It's no use, all that is up there is some sort of hieroglyphics exhibit."

"I can read hieroglyphics. Perhaps that's the key we are looking for."

The four walked upstairs, a man wearing a blue robe and white turban on his head was standing in front of a door. "Oh hey," he said when the four of them walked upstairs. "This room is being remodeled...we uh, sorta kinda brought an alive exhibit here by accident. Sorry, I can't let you through."

"It's kind of an emergency." Sarah said to the man. "Could you please let us through?"

"Maybe if you could make it worth my while." The man said. "Is there anything of value you kids could possibly have?"

Dyson pulled out the tiny ruby that Petra had given him. "Here would this be of value."

The man examined it closely. "This is indeed a real ruby." he said. "But...I don't think it's worth nearly as much as I would prefer. Sorry but I don't think that this one gemstone is enough."

"I could give you more." Moon said. His hand began to flash orangish brown and small blue gemstones started to fall onto the ground. The man's eyes widened in shock.

"Great scott! You can just create gemstones out of thin air?" The man asked in disbelief. "Okay then, these sapphires will suffice young man." he said. "You three may enter."

Dyson looked at Moon in shock. Dalaam had spent years researching the mysterious properties of PSI, and yet there was no record of anyone being able to create rocks out of thin air.

"What was that?" the young prince asked. "That doesn't look like a usual PSI power."

The three kids turned to face the prince. "It's PK Earth." Sarah said. "Moon is able to create gemstones of thin air. He's also able to turn them into living attack statues."

"Odd," Dyson said. "Dalaam has spent centuries studying PSI powers, throughout all of it, there was no records of geokinesis...Regardless, we should enter this exhibit and see what the deal is."

The four walked inside of the room. The man with the turban was standing next to a stone tablet with a bunch of symbols etched into it. In front of the tablet stood two closed, brown coffins. The four approached the exhibit. Until Moon felt his own precognition kick in.

DANGER!

Two giant mummies that, ironically, shouldn't have even been able to fit in the coffins launched out at the three heroes.

"Shield !" Moon shouted. A wall of light sprung up and flung one of the mummies back. However, the impact of the second mummy was enough to make the shield shatter as it body slammed Moon to the ground.

"PK Freeze γ!" Sarah cried.

The beam of ice that came off her hand forced the mummy off of Moon, though a part of him did get impacted by the ice as well. The second mummy let out a growl and lunged towards her, Erick managed to knock it off its course with a charged laser shot which pushed the second mummy onto the floor. Dyson then used his own PSI to freeze the second mummy, which Moon then destroyed with one swing from his bat.

"Phew...that was a close one." Erick said. "Good thing there were just two."

"DUCK!" Moon shouted.

The other mummy apparently hadn't had enough fighting and had lunged at Sarah, Erick, and Dyson attempting to tackle all three of them. Moon had stopped the mummy very briefly with his telekinesis in an attempt to keep the three of them safe. It worked, but it let the mummy tackle him. He felt several bones in his arm crack in his body under the mummy's heavy weight.

"PK Freeze γ!" Sarah shouted. A beam of ice struck the mummy off of Moon and into the wall.

"PK Thunder !" Dyson launched two lightning bolts that struck the last mummy, turning it into a pile of ashes. The three friends ran to Moon's side, where he struggled to make movement. Dyson's hand flashed green and he placed it on Moon, the chosen leader rose slowly before quickly clutching his arm.

"Damn it, I knew it broke something." Moon hissed. His hand flashed a purplish color and his arm was back to normal. He let go of it before Dyson intervened again.

"Healing powers are only supposed to work on external injuries." The young prince said. "What sort of power allowed you to heal broken bones?"

"Healing sigma." Erick said. "He only just learned to use it recently."

Moon let out a stifled groan. "Can we just move on already?" He asked.

Dyson turned to the stone tablets, the ancient hieroglyphics were carved into the rock. He took a moment to remember what each of them said, then he began to read it to the other chosen heroes.

"It says, to fight against the invaders, we built this pyramid fortress." the prince read. "However, our efforts were futile, and we lost. Nonetheless, the pyramid was protected by the gods of Scaraba. The invaders will be reborn every millennium and will attack again. Even now, the invaders hide beyond space and time and build their evil stronghold. A place out of time is beyond the Dark, and is even further beyond the Lost Underworld. The Deep Darkness is shrouded, it is without light. Only one with the Hawk eye can pierce the dark. The sphinx now watches over everything, waiting for the coming of a truly brave hero."

"Okay, so...the enemies hide in an area beyond space and time." Erick said. "To get there we need to visit somewhere beyond a place called the Lost Underworld. But to do that, we need to get through Deep Darkness, which can't be done unless we have the Hawk eye."

"Well, there's a bit more, it has the numbers 1 through five listed in a star pattern, it says to dance in front of the sphinx." Dyson turned to Moon. "Either way, Moon, let's go to Scaraba, the pyramid is the key."

"Just one problem your highness." Moon responded. "The docks in the port town of Toto are closed. We'll have to wait for them to re-open."

"Damn it."

"Well...until then...why don't we just do some shopping, or maybe some sightseeing?" Sarah asked.

"Sure why the hell not!"

"Oh wait," The man in the turban said. "Before you go, take this, it's a copy of the hieroglyphics. Just for you four. It's a reward for studying so hard. Use it in your Human Civilization class."

"Thanks sir." Moon said.

"And thank you, young man, for all those sapphire gemstones."

The chosen four walked downstairs, as they approached the door, the phone at the front desk started ringing.

Moon walked over to the phone and picked it up curiously.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hello! Is this Mr. Fork of the Scaraba Cultural Museum?"

"No, do you need me to get him?" Moon asked.

"No, No, that won't be necessary," the voice said. "I'll just quickly tell you my story, because I'm busy, busy busy! I found something so extraordinary that mere words could not do it justice."

'Hold up, that sounds like another sanctuary location!" Moon thought. "Who are you?" he asked.

"What do you mean who am I? Don't you recognize my voice? It's me, Mr. Spoon from the Fourside Museum of Natural History! Look Mr. Fork, I'm not exaggerating this find! I'm telling you...It's fantastic!...it's outrageous!" the phone clicked off letting Moon know he'd hung up.

Moon turned to his friends. "Guys, great news!" he said. "I found out where the next sanctuary location is! We're going back to Fourside!"

Sarah, Erick, and Dyson nodded. "What are we waiting for?" Sarah asked. "Let's get going!"

The four walked outside. "Alright, just remember what Tala Rama said." Moon said to himself. "Concentrate really hard on Teleport alpha before speeding off to your desired location!"

The four gradually began to pick up speed moving down the surprisingly empty streets of Summers, before they reached the wall in the port town of Toto a pink portal opened and the four chosen heroes shot right through it, with the four of them finally together, they were finally ready for any challenge Giygas could throw at them, no matter what...one thing would always remain unchanged about the four of them. They were brought together by faith, but bound to each other, by Earth herself.

The four shot out of the pink portal onto the streets of Fourside. Sarah, Erick, and Dyson, were able to come to a halt pretty easily. Moon on the other hand, tripped over a crack in the street and fell onto the asphalt.

"Damn it." he grunted lifting himself up. He quickly used lifeup to heal his minors cuts on his hands and legs. He heard faint snickers from his friends and merely let out a sigh. Now that the chosen friends were all here, he knew that they'd have to return to Onett at some point. He dreaded that moment everyday. It wasn't like things were going to be easier...seeing as Pokey had just revived "the incident." but he only had a few bottles of cleanser left. Now that he was forced to share with Sarah, that supply depleted quickly.

"_Thus, a million disasters start to happen!" _

"Quiet you!" Moon hissed. He shook himself back to reality and looked around. The history museum was in the middle of Fourside, so that was exactly where they needed to go. He led the four heroes down the street, Dyson marveled at the sights of Foursides, it made Moon wonder what Dalaam was like, Dyson always seemed to be so fascinated by the outside world.

"We don't have anything like this back home in Dalaam." The young prince said looking around. "With the exception of the royal palace, homes in Dalaam are relatively small and quaint."

"I still can't believe that your a prince!" Sarah exclaimed. "Like...an actual prince...what's life like at your home?"

"It is nothing too special, we have our own way of doing things in Dalaam and it is merely satisfactory standards of living. Not that I ever did much outside of training for our adventure."

The four arrived at the history museum. Moon paid the entrance fee for the four of them and they began to look around the museum. There were statues of fossilized dinosaurs all over the place.

"Look at these things." Erick said examining them. "You've got stuff like Chomposaurus, Wetnosaurs, and even a Pterodactyl!"

Moon looked at the dragon like Pterodactyl fossil. "Looks an awful lot like Ridley." he said.

Erick looked at him in shock. "You're...You're a gamer?" he asked. "Strange, I never put you down to be one of those."

"I have a copy of Smash Ultimate at home, alongside a bunch of controllers, when we visit Onett maybe we could play a few rounds?"

"I'd like that." Erick responded. "Wait hold up, aren't we in the 1990s? The Nintendo Switch doesn't even exist yet!"

"Did you even read the contract I sent you?"

"Just...just forget it." the genius muttered.

The four approached the giant stegosaurus statue in the middle only to hear a bunch of familiar music began to play. The photoman landed on the ground in front of them ready to take another photo.

"Pictures taken instantaneously, I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself. Alright, get ready for an instant memory, look at the camera. Ready? Say Fuzzy Pickles!"

The chosen four struck a pose as Moon did the V shape with his fingers.

"Wow what a great photograph, it will always bring back the fondest of memories!"

The four continued to search within the museum looking at several interesting dinosaurs along the way. Moon noticed a man standing by a door to the back, he sensed a bit of power and walked over to it. The man in front stepped in front of the door. He wore a white overcoat and had flaming red hair.

"Hey...kid...you want to know something extraordinary?" the man asked.

"Sure." Moon responded.

"Hmmmm." the man hummed. "I'd be willing to let you see that extraordinary thing...if you could...make it worth my while?"

"Uh, sure, what do you need?"

"You know, there's a new singer at the Topolla Theater. Could you bring me her autograph on an eraser? If you do, I'll show you something extraordinary."

"Sure, I can definitely do that...do you have an eraser I could have?"

"Oh, if you can get her autograph on anything, don't worry about the eraser...I don't care if the autograph is written on toilet paper."

Moon shrugged and turned around, it took him a few minutes to locate everyone since they were all scattered throughout the museum, eventually he found Erick and Dyson.

"Where's Sarah?" he asked.

"I thought she was with you." Erick said.

"Damn it, not again." Moon said looking around nervously.

Sarah had been looking at the fossil statue of the dragon like pterodactyl. The dragon looked quite menacing, like it wouldn't hesitate to kill her in an instant if she was alive. Her head throbbed a little, but at this point, it was basically normal to her, she didn't flinch at all.

"_I know this dragon personally."_ her darkside said coldly.

Sarah blinked in confusion. "Really...what's he like?"

"_You don't need to know anything about my work in the other clusters of this pathetic multiverse, but that dragon is easily the deadliest weapon I have ever seen. Tabuu did a good job of recruiting him on our side...although...you and Moon certainly would give him a run for his money."_

"We aren't your weapons Giygas...you don't have control over us...you're trapped...you can't do anything."

"_I may be trapped like a damn zoo animal in your little brain, but that doesn't mean I can't play you like a damn fiddle...you and Moon are essentially my children...I know you more than you think Sarah." _

Sarah didn't know how to respond to this. Dark Sarah certainly talked a big game. Which was rather irritating for her.

"_Awe, did I hit a nerve? Adorable, you really are so easy to play with. Moon would be disapointed at how stupid you are."_

"Am I stupid?" Sarah gritted. "Who's the one in control?" The second she finished that sentence she lost awareness of her surroundings.

**(Mindscape)**

Sarah found herself in the voided landscape once again. "What?...no...no...NO!" She shouted.

Dark Sarah appeared in front of her, smiling evilly. "You're so damn pathetic, not only are so super easy to mess with, but you also can't keep me under control

"I wasn't even angry!" Sarah snapped at her.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Dark Sarah hissed wagging a shadowy finger at her. "Whether you realize it or not, you get angrier every time I talk to you sweetheart." She floated around Sarah, who just stayed put as her shadow spun around her.

"Awe, what's wrong?" Dark Sarah asked coming to a stop in front of her. She flipped herself upside down and turned to face her. "Don't like my stupid and silly antics?" She reached out one of her shadowy hands and put a finger on her arm. Sarah didn't flinch at all.

"Oh...what's this?" she hissed. "Seems you've grown accustomed to my pain." she wrapped her hand around her arm. This time Sarah flinched. Dark Sarah let go of her, still upside down she clapped her shadowy hands.

"Hmm, what to talk with you about?" She asked looking around. "Your friends?"

Suddenly, the void changed into a large room. Sarah looked around, several kids from her school were in the room chatting amongst each other. Sarah started to shift uncomfortably. Dark Sarah meanwhile looked around in pleasure. "Oh joy, it's like I've walked right into a candy store." she hissed. "So many people for me to tourture in the near future!"

Sarah twitched. She was just trying to stay calm, Dark Sarah was merely feeding off her anger by talking incessantly.

"Odd, you don't seem to care as much as you used to." Dark Sarah hissed. "What about Moon then?"

Sarah could feel her insides crawling, "I love him." she said to her dark side. "There's nothing you can do about that."

"You love him...He loves you." Dark Sarah hissed. "What would you say if you knew what he did? He uses me in ways that would horrify you."

Sarah felt herself make a fist with her hand. "If Moon uses you, he has his reasons for it." she gritted. "I've learned that about him...he does everything in his power to keep me safe...if he has to use you to do that...then I don't care. Keeping me safe is the one thing that keeps him going."

"Your love is adorable." Dark Sarah hissed. "Even when I try to plant a seed of doubt in your mind, you still find a way to fight it off. Truly it seems that my corruption is working on you."

"But don't you want me to doubt him?" Sarah asked. "Wouldn't your corruption make me doubt him?"

"No, my corruption is simply for your emotions, I can't challenge love...I learned in the past that love is nearly unbeatable. One drawback to it however, is my hosts seem to become more smart, aware, and observant. So, no, I don't need you doubting him, not anymore at least...I've been feeding off your anger, doubts, fear, and now...I feed off your love as well."

Dark Sarah twirled around the room they were in laughing coldly. Sarah looked at her in disgust, her dark side pranced around like nothing could go wrong. She drew in a breath when her dark side turned to face her.

"I'm breathtaking?" her dark side snickered. "Wow, I must annoy you so much! You just stand there in silence while I talk constantly. Day by day, you slowly begin to fall apart Sarah, we just keep making things more and more difficult for you and Moon as the days go by. Look at you, at this point...you've given up on your hopes that things could go back to normal. Your love is now the only driving factor you have left in you...while I can't ever truly corrupt you to the fullest degree, I can at least give you a dark heart and a miserable experience."

Suddenly Moon's voice was coming through the voided landscape.

"_Sarah?...Sarah!"_

Dark Sarah chuckled. "Oh isn't this fun, he's had me control for quite sometime now, looks like he finally got you alone."

"_WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO HER!"_

"Moon it's okay!" Sarah cried. "I'm just talking to her!"

Dark Sarah laughed. "Oh wow you are stupid." she hissed. "You've been talking to me face to face, I'm in control of your body at the moment. All he sees is me in control, he can't hear you."

Sarah felt herself getting more and more irritated. A frying pan developed in her hand and she swung it at her dark side. The second the frying pan made contact with her dark side a shock of pain shot through her body. Her dark side didn't flinch.

"Did you really not learn anything from last time?" she hissed.

"PK LOVE!"

"Pk Hate!"

Sarah's multi-colored lasers vanished as black and red lasers consumed her weaker attack and struck her hard throwing her across the void. Her dark side teleported up to her.

"I think I've proven my point." She hissed. "Moon is gonna start getting in a mood if I don't let you out, so I'll stop here. Goodbye sweetheart."

Sarah felt herself getting flung upwards.

**(Reality)**

Sarah awoke in a dressing room, Moon was holding onto her in a hug. She felt his hug around her loosen as he let go of her.

"Sarah...what happened?" Moon asked. "Why did you let her take control?"

"I...I didn't know that talking face to face with her would allow her to take control...are...are you mad?"

Moon quickly shook his head. "No...No...I'm not mad at you Sarah. You...you just scared me."

"Where...where are Erick and Dyson?" Sarah asked looking around.

"They're getting our seats...We already got Venus' autograph...I told them I needed to talk with you privately...if she hadn't given you back...I would've had to try and force her out...I didn't want them to see that."

"You...you would've hurt me?"

Moon looked like he would've rather not heard that.

"No...no, I would never hurt you...not even to force your dark side out of control." he said slowly. "The best I could possibly do was force her to drink that medicine I gave you earlier."

The two looked at each other in an uncomfortable silence, the only sound they could hear was the ticking of the clock in the room.

"Sarah," Moon said after a moment. "I'm...uh...I'm running out of that special medicine for our dark sides...I have a lot more at home...so...we'll probably need to visit there soon."

Sarah nodded. "I understand...you want me to keep this a secret from your family right?"

"Yes...but...also...I want you to promise me something." he said. "Promise me, that no matter what anyone says...whatever you hear...please promise me that you won't believe anything."

"What...Moon why?"

Moon shifted uncomfortably. "It's...it's complicated." he said. "I don't want to talk about it." he added noticing her questionable look. "Just...forget I said anything...let's go watch Venus sing."

The two exited the dressing room and located Erick and Dyson sitting close to the exit in the middle row. "I've explained the whole dark side thing to Dyson." Erick whispered to Moon. "He was a bit concerned about the whole soul sharing thing...but he knows not tell anyone."

"Thank you Erick." Moon whispered.

The chosen four sat down in the theater, a woman with long blonde hair in a black dress came out on stage and strutted up to the microphone. She took a moment to gather in the sheer size of the audience, then, said. "I'm not going to sing my own song today." she said. "I'm instead going to sing one that my mother Catherine used to sing to me." Then she started to sing.

_I believe the morning sun_

_Always gonna shine again,_

_and,_

_I believe a pot of gold_

_Waits at every rainbow's end,_

_oh_

_I believe in roses kissed with dew,_

_Why shouldn't I believe the same in you?_

_I believe in make believe,_

_Fairy tales and lucky charms_

_and,_

_I believe in promises,_

_Spoken as you cross your heart,_

_oh,_

_I believe in skies forever blue,_

_Why shouldn't I believe the same in you?_

_You may say I'm a fool,_

_Feelin' the way that I do_

_You can call me Pollyanna,_

_Say I'm crazy as a loon,_

_I believe in silver linings_

_And that's why I believe in you!_

_I believe there'll come a day,_

_Maybe it will be tomorrow._

_When the blue birds flies away,_

_All we have to do is follow._

_I believe a dream can still come true,_

_Why shouldn't I believe the same in you?_

_You may say I'm a fool,_

_Feelin' the way that I do,_

_I believe in friends and laughter_

_And the wonders love can do,_

_I believe in songs and magic_

_And that's why I believe in you!_

_You may say I'm a fool,_

_Feelin' this way about you,_

_There's not much I can do,_

_I'm gonna be this way my life through_

_'Cause I still believe in miracles,_

_I swear I've seen a few._

_And the time will surely come_

_When you can see my point of view._

_I believe in second chances,_

_And that's why I believe in you!_

The audience applauded graciously to the woman as she bowed and walked off stage. Moon slowly nodded to himself.

"_I'm sorry but what the goddamn hell do you think your doing?"_

"Just living up a memory that you're gonna destroy." Moon muttered. "It's been a while since I've actually been happy...so how about I just hold onto it a little longer."

"_Psh, yeah right." _

Moon closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Somewhere along the line of time, he had forgotten how to be happy. There wasn't much else to say, happiness was something he never had. Whenever he did have it, if he ever had it, it would disappear.

"Things could've been different." he said to himself. "Somewhere out there, there's a different timeline, one where I'm...different...I had a choice to make...all those years back...I chose to stay...to take a chance and stay...it was a choice that I thought would have never paid off." he looked to his left where Sarah was resting her head on his shoulder. "Now, I have something I thought I'd never have. Someone I care about, Someone I love. I haven't felt this close to happy in years. It can only get better from here...it has to!"

* * *

**It would be a crime to not mention Pollyanna in an Earthbound retelling (to me at least), easily my favorite song of the entirety of the Mother series.**

**So, what happened to the short chapter? To be honest, I kind of just forgot to end the chapter and by the time I realized it, I was here. So uh, congrats, you got yourself a long chapter...and the next chapter is going to be both Magnet Hill and Pink Cloud Sanctuary. After that, we get the Longly anticipated return to Onett. I'm not much of caring person in terms of "Keeping tech relevant to time" plus, I need to tease the sequel smash crossover in more ways than one. Anyway, as I stated last time, I will include a bit of information on our characters, as it stands, I've introduced 8 original characters into Earthbound's world. So I might as well talk a bit about each of them.**

**First up are Moon and Sarah, believe it or not, this story wasn't always meant to be an Earthbound Retelling. Instead, it was going to be a more original fan made continuation from the end of Mother 3. My original concept for the characters was going to be more of a...well...I can't really explain that without talking about the plot. The idea was eventually scrapped after my plans for how I wanted Moon and Sarah to behave compared to the "lovely" roster of Smash Ultimate. The Earthbound retelling became the basis for the story as it gave me a wider option of tools to work with, I'm actually very proud of the way this turned out and don't really regret my choice. As a bit of a side note, I actually still have the first two chapters of the original story stored somewhere, maybe if someone is interested I'd post them as a bit of a side non-canon.**

**Next up is Erick and Giovanna, Both of whom are the only other characters to have stayed the same from their early development in my original story. Giovanna, while not having much of a role here (due to some uh plot issues), will still be a prominent character at some point later down the line. Erick's original concept and the only thing that changed from the original story was the fact that he and Moon were long time friends.**

**Then there is Dyson and Petra. Dyson is only character to have undergone a name change, originally he was going to take the name of a close friend or an older friend who I haven't seen in awhile, (like every other character in this series). He underwent two different name swaps before I eventually gave up and settled with the name of a Vacuum cleaner company. (I blame Erick for pointing this out). Anyway, the close friend of mine who was supposed to take Dyson's role does read this story, and is also going to be a helper when Smash bros crossover happens. Petra, on the other hand, is kind of an oddball, in the original story, she was meant to be sort of a...fifth hero. When the Earthbound fanfiction was put into place, I actually cut her from the story, then I brought her back as sort of a last minute add on when I realized I had created a plot hole. I carried over a bit of what I had drawn up for her concept into here and maybe if you guys are interested, we could have Petra join our chosen heroes for a while (After all, we need a princess with a crossbow).**

**Lastly are Olive and Dan. Despite Dan only appearing in one chapter, he had a bigger role planned out in the original story. Olive on the other hand, well, due to the sake of my plot, I'm not going to say much about her, (I wouldn't want to spoil my surprises, I love to keep you guessing).  
**

**Anyway, if you stuck through these facts I've put in about these characters, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read them. Let me know what you think about all this because it took a lot out of me to write this in. Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next chapter for the Double Sanctuary Special**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Double Sanctuary Special**

The chosen four heroes re-entered the Fourside Museum repaying for tickets and locating the man in the back.

Moon handed the man a banana peel that had the signature of Venus on it. The man examined it carefully before pocketing it.

"Well, you got it." he said. "That banana peel has an authentic Venus autograph on it. Yep, there is no doubt about it! Now for my end of the promise. I'll tell you something extraordinary. In the next room there is light shining from far, far below the manhole. There I found this huge monster rat! I'm not trying to pull your leg or anything...I'll let you go down and check it out for yourself."

The man walked away from the door allowing the four heroes to walk through it. Behind the door there was a manhole cover undone from the top and a ladder heading down.

"The next sanctuary...is in the sewers?" Erick asked. "Disgusting!"

Moon looked down into the dark hole, he couldn't see anything below it but that wasn't going to stop him.

"Well, we don't really have much of an option now do we?" he asked. "Soooo...we might as well go down."

He climbed down the ladder, once he touched the floor he looked around. He was inside of sewers, the smell wasn't as bad as one would think and he wasn't standing directly in sewer water. He was actually on a platform away from the water. He called down the others who followed behind him.

"Well, we could just follow the platform to the end." Dyson said looking down at the sewage water.

"Actually, no we can't" Sarah said, looking to the left. She pointed to the end were the platform ended with water flowing across the end of the sewer.

"So, we have to walk through sewage?" Erick asked. "Uh, yeah, I ain't doing that."

Moon shrugged, "I've done worse," he said. "CANNONBALL!"

He jumped into the sewage system below him drenching his friends in sewer water as he resurfaced. He turned to face his friends all of whom looked rather disgusted by his actions.

"Come on guys, I can't face the sanctuary boss without you."

"Whatever friend Moon demands of me, I must follow," Dyson said. "Don't worry friend Moon, I shall aid you!" The young prince splashed in next to him in the sewage water.

"Come on Sarah." Moon said motioning to her. "It's not going to kill you. We have to do what we have to do to save the world!"

Sarah nodded. "Yes, we can't just stand here and do nothing. We must save the world!" She jumped into the sewage water next to him.

Erick hesitated. Then he jumped in next to them. The four began their trek through the water towards the end of the sewers.

Danger!

A bunch of trash cans suddenly came to life and charged at the four heroes.

"Looks like the ghosts are back." Moon said, gripping his bat. "Let's fight."

"PK Fire γ!" Sarah shouted. A wave of fire erupted off her hand consuming the ghosts into a ring of flames. Moon used PK Flash to ward off any oncomers, while Dyson used his freeze to solidify those that didn't get affected. Erick shot the rest of the ghosts that kept on coming towards them.

The ghosts kept on coming however, several of them swarmed up to the chosen four in all directions. They vented terrible odors that made each of the chosen four gag as they got closer and closer.

"PK Earth!" Several sapphire statues of knights formed out of thin air before charging up towards each of the ghosts slashing at the trashcan they were using a defensive shield. The ghosts let out a few crackles before melting into thin air.

The chosen four breathed a sigh of relief as the ghosts vanished. The continued trudging through the nasty sewage water, stepping cockroaches and warding off rats as they went. It took a long time of trudging through the sewers before they reached a dead end. Once they got to the end they noticed a ladder leading up towards the tip top back out of Fourside.

"I can sense immense power and dark energy coming from this area." Moon said turning to his friends. "We are close to the sanctuary!" The four climbed out of the sewage water and headed towards the ladder.

Danger!

In a flash of white light a giant rat now stood in front of the four heroes. It had enormous buck teeth that were quite sharp. It's tail had a bald spot around it and its ears were pointed upwards. The rat had an evil glare with blood red eyes accompanying it.

"Welcome, Moon, Sarah, Erick, Dyson!" the rat hissed. "This is the fourth your sanctuary location...But it is mine now...take it from me...if you dare!"

Without warning the rat immediately lashed out at Moon.

"Shield Σ!" Dyson shouted. Four walls of light sprung up around the four heroes and blocked Moon from the rats bite. The rat let out a screech and began another attack.

"PK Rollin β!" Moon shouted. The rat quickly dodged his multi colored laser beams before making another attack towards him. The shield barrier sprung up again protecting him from the attack. Sarah smacked one of the rats big paws with her frying pan before launching a gamma level fire attack at it. The giant rat hissed in pain before attempting to strike her with its tail. The same shield barrier protected her from the rats tail slap.

Erick noticed the rats fur was dripping a little. "Sarah, the rat is covered in sewer water!" he called out. "Fire will be ineffective against it, focus on a different element."

"PK Thunder β!" Dyson launched two lighting bolts which struck the rat with immense force. The rat continued to hiss in rage before making a bite at Sarah. The shield wall came up again protecting her from the bite.

"Why does the rat only keep attacking them?" Dyson asked Erick, noticing the rats continuous attack pattern towards both Moon and Sarah while completely ignoring him and Erick.

"I'm not quite sure." Erick responded digging through his backpack. "Every enemy we fight seems to love going after both of them, they never go for me and it seems like you might be a similar case." he pulled out a big bottle rocket and set it up to aim at the rat. "I'll just use a little help from my trusty explosive and we'll be good to go." he lit the rocket and it fired.

Unfortunately, the rat was ready for it. It struck the explosive with its tail knocking towards Moon and Sarah both of whom were together. The rocket struck the ground below them and exploded throwing both of them across the sewer water and into the concrete walls.

"Was that supposed to happen, friend Erick?" Dyson asked.

"No it wasn't!" Erick snapped back at him. "Why do you think I wanted to blow them up?"

The rat turned to face them. "Well, the job is certainly much easier to finish without both of them to worry about, thank you for making my life easier." it hissed in a cold voice.

Moon fought himself to get back up. Though he had sustained heavy damage from the explosion and concrete impact. He still needed to get up and help his friends. He lifted himself up and looked around, Sarah was right next to him lying on the ground, her head was bleeding and she wasn't moving. His instincts kicked into high gear and his eyes flashed red.

The rat bounded towards Erick and Dyson. Both of whom prepared for a fight without their friends. Suddenly, in a flash of pink light Moon stood in front of both of them. The cement ground below him and the wall next to him started to slowly crack.

"What the hell?" Dyson said in shock. "Friend Moon are you okay?"

Suddenly the rat stopped moving, then it was lifted into the air and slammed against the ceiling of the sewers. Then it was slammed into the floor. Before being flung across the sewer system it collided with the concrete wall with such impact that it basically created a dented hole for it to fit in. The cracks in the ground below Moon began to expand even more.

"PK Earth." Moon hissed. A giant boulder slammed against the rat locking it's position in the wall. The rat let out a hissing cry as it struggled to move.

"Oh no, Giygas...I mean...Dark Moon, he's in control at the moment!" Erick said.

"What? How can you tell?"

"Seriously?" Erick asked. "Look at how destructive and violent he's being! His voice is all cold and heartless! Seriously! He's not normal at the moment!"

"PK ROCKIN γ!"

Black and red lasers shot towards the rat enveloping it completely before vaporizing it. When the light and dust cleared, the only thing left was the giant dent the rat had made with the boulder that covered it. When both boys turned towards Dark Moon they saw him breathing heavily while black and red sparks erupted out of his hand. There was a giant bleeding gash on the top of his forehead and a few minor cuts on his legs.

Dark Moon slowly approached Sarah, before Erick and Dyson got in front of him.

"What?" he hissed.

"We aren't going to help Sarah until you put Moon back in control." Erick said firmly.

Dark Moon looked at them like he'd rather kill both of them right where they were standing.

"Fine, but don't think this will always work. It only works now because I'd be endangering Sarah's well being by doing nothing...so you win this round...for now." he blinked then he shook his head. His cold and heartless stare became more soft and passionate.

"Thanks." Moon said. "I wasn't sure if you two would've been able to stop him...now...let's just get Sarah into the sanctuary." he picked her up and used lifeup alpha to heal her injuries just a little bit. He couldn't full restore her, Dark Moon had wasted too much PSI energy for that. But he had enough in him to heal her enough so that she was able to wake up and move.

"What...what happened?" she asked looking around, when she looked up at Moon she twitched a little, just at how messed up he looked.

"It's alright Sarah." Moon said. "We won...let's claim the sanctuary."

The four heroes climbed up the ladder into a brick walled off center in the middle of Fourside. In the center of the area there was a small little replica mountain. It was shining silver and it made the four heroes' hair stand up when they approached it.

"Fascinating." Erick said observing the object. "This little hill thing has magnetic properties! It's a literal Magnet hill!"

A soothing melody began to play for the chosen four as it cleansed them of the sewage water and horrible smell that the four now possessed. The heroes relaxed feeling refreshed when Moon and Sarah suddenly had a vision. Both of them saw two baby bottles with a few voices that they recognized as their parents.

"_They're both sleeping so soundly."_

"_Odd that they were born on the same day at the same time...do you think there's some deeper meaning?" _

"_Who knows, let's just hope that they grow up to be caring and kind kids." _

The vision then closed with a red and black striped book. There was a light blue hand holding the book. They heard another voice talking. It seemed to belong to some sort of...outsider.

"_How foolish, she created this world for Paula...but she didn't monitor it? Does she have any idea how dangerous this is? Whatever, the damage has been dealt, their timeline is all screwed up...I'll have to repair it the best I can...if they were to learn about this...we'd be royally screwed."_

The two blinked back to reality and looked at each other. "Did...did you get the same vision as me...the baby bottles and our parents?" Moon asked. Sarah nodded in response.

"What happened?" Dyson asked the two of them.

"We got the same vision, we've gotten one in every sanctuary we've been to. This one...this one just showed us that we share the same birthday." Sarah responded.

"I swear it's like the universe just wants to force you two together." Erick interrupted. "Seriously, you two share a soul to Giygas, you share a birthday, and you both love each other. What's next are you two going to have interacted with each other at some point in your past and just forgot about it?"

"I highly doubt it." Sarah said. "I've lived in Twoson my whole life, Moon's lived in Onett, our parents have never spoken to each other about us until our adventure."

Moon instantly got another flash vision, this time he saw pink fluffy clouds somewhere near a cave in the sky. He shook his head, somehow, that was there next sanctuary location.

"Guys, our next sanctuary is located somewhere in the sky." he said.

Dyson perked up. "Oh, I know where it is," he said. "In Dalaam there is a sealed off area known as the Pink Cloud, I was told that we'd have to visit there after finding some sort of key that would move the silly rabbit statues that block it!"

"Like this carrot key that's just on the ground?" Erick asked, holding up a key made of carrots.

"Uh, yeah, that'll probably work." Dyson responded. "Moon do you think you could use that teleportation thingy that you did earlier with the rat? There isn't enough room to use the alpha or beta level here and if I'm being honest, I'd rather not walk through the sewers again."

Moon nodded, "I'll try." he said. "Hold on, Erick where the hell did you get that?"

Sarah and Dyson turned their heads towards the genius who was holding onto a broken bazooka. "I uh...I sorta found it in the sewers." he said. "It might take a while to fix, but I think I can get it working again."

"Alrighty then," Moon said, "I think you all need to be close to me when I teleport, so can everyone just grab onto me?"

Sarah grabbed his right hand while Erick and Dyson, held onto his left arm. He took a deep breath and concentrated on teleport sigma, then in a flash of pink light, the chosen 4 vanished from the sanctuary.

* * *

**(World Sanctuary, Onett)**

Ness arrived home with Paula by his side. Paula led him through a sanction of wood near his house taking a zig-zag and cross walk off many weird paths. He followed her curiously as she walked through the maze like pattern.

"Paula...where are we going?" he asked.

"I...I wanted to check something...Moon...showed me something when I was with him in Magicant, and...it was really beautiful...I just wanted to see if it is here...maybe…"

She led him into a clearing, to the left of them was a crystal clear blue lake with a cherry blossom tree on a small island in the middle with a small wooden bridge crossing towards it. In front of them was a relatively small gated village there were a couple of people outside walking around.

"Woah...how...how did you know where to go?" Ness asked.

"Moon showed me the way through the woods near his house in the Onett version of Magicant." Paula responded. "I...I just thought that maybe this was someplace real...it had to be."

"Okay...so...why did we come here?"

"I...well." to be honest, she wasn't sure why she came here. She felt something take her hand. She saw Ness looking at her with a look of evident concern.

"Paula...they'll be okay." Ness said. "Moon and Sarah will be fine, love has always conquered evil in our realm, it did with us and it did with Lucas in his world.

Suddenly, an orange portal opened in front of them. A boy with blonde hair, wearing an orange and yellow striped shirt with weirdly colored shoes stepped out in front of them.

"L-Lucas?" Ness said in shock. "What...what are you doing here?"

Lucas was clutching onto an envelope. "Ness...uh...sorry to bother you...but...I got this letter delivered to me...and...we uh...we have a problem." the boy said handing him the letter.

Ness scanned through the letter carefully, his face fell more and more as he continued on. He looked up from the letter horrified. "Is...Is this for real?" he asked. "Are they seriously going to do this?"

"Only if we don't stop it ourselves." Lucas responded

"What...what happened?" Paula asked with worry.

"Paula...the Council of Smash just called an emergency meeting." Ness responded. "I'm not allowed to speak to you about it, you know that. Sorry, but I have to go, come on Lucas we've gotta stop them, we can't let them do this." he kissed her goodbye and shot through the portal with Lucas, leaving Paula left in the clearing alone. She sighed as she turned around and began walking back through the woods.

"Sometimes, I wish Ness never got involved with them." Paula said to herself. "He's just been so busy with them recently prepping for the sixth tournament, I...I know we just started our relationship, but...I just wish I could tell him about those two."

* * *

**(Dark Sanctuary, Dalaam)**

The chosen four appeared in front of a solid gold palace. On either side of the grand entrance were two solid silver statues of elephants with their trunks raised high. Moon, Sarah, and Erick all stared wide eyed at the sheer size of the palace.

"Holy smokes...you...you live here?" Moon asked. "Jeez...are you sure there were no records of PK Earth? No way in hell did you have enough gold and silver lying around to just make this!"

The young prince chuckled. "Yes, this is indeed the royal palace where I live, before we go to the Pink Cloud, I might as well inform my master that I have returned with the chosen heroes."

The chosen four entered into the grand palace, several people immediately flocked over to them, they were all wearing bright red and were quick to separate Dyson from them.

"Prince Dyson, we were uninformed that you were bringing them here so soon...seriously, you've only been gone for a day. Hurry, hurry you fools, tend to these four at once, we must welcome the chosen heroes with pride and joy! Tend to them at once!"

"We are only here for a short while." Dyson said stopping all of the men in place. "Unless claiming the Pink Cloud Sanctuary takes longer than we think, there is no reason for us to stay. Please go back to regular duties."

All of the men bowed and immediately left the area to go back to other rooms of the palace. He guided his friends to the throne room where they saw a girl in a yellow dress gown with chocolate brown eyes and hair. The girl eagerly jumped up from her seat and ran over to them embracing Dyson in a hug.

"I didn't expect you to come home so soon." she said hugging him.

"Care to introduce us?" Erick asked.

"Yes of course, how silly of me." Dyson said. "This is Petra, Princess of Dalaam, and my wife."

"She's your wife?" Sarah asked. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Oh, so...you're two years older than all of us."

"Age does not matter." the young prince said. "Petra, these are the chosen heroes, there is Erick, Sarah, and of course, Moon."

The princess nodded looking at each of them. However, her eyes turned to a hint of suspicion when she looked at Moon. Moon gave her a look of confusion before looking down at his hands. He could see that they were back to a shadowy color.

"Oh damn it, she can see the corruption?" he asked himself. "Damn it, I was not expecting that, um...well, no point in...no...I can't let her say anything...wait a second."

He reached into his backpack and pulled out the ruby crested tiara he had found in the monkey caves. "Isn't this yours?" he asked. "I found it in some caves and got a flash vision of you looking for it...this is yours right?"

The princess took a second to answer his question which told him that she was less concerned about that. He gripped her tiara a bit and whispered.

"_What you see is something only you and I can see, they won't understand. I advise that you say nothing, I'll tell you later." _

He handed the tiara back to her which she placed on her head he watched as a tiny bit of darkness moved from the tiara to her head before disappearing. She blinked for a moment before nodding as if she understood. Moon silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for finding my tiara." Petra said. "It's the signature custom of the queen or princess of Dalaam so I can't begin to thank you enough."

"It was nothing." Moon said sheepishly.

"So...what brings you guys to Dalaam?"

"The Pink Cloud sanctuary." Sarah responded. "We have to go and claim it!"

Petra's eyes sparkled. "Oh wow, really?" she asked. "I should come with you! It sounds fun!"

Everyone in the throne room looked at her like she was crazy.

"Princess Petra you can't go to the Pink Cloud!" one of the workers said. "There are all sorts of monsters and guardians in there meant for the chosen heroes."

"I've been in the area before." Petra said.

"YOU WHAT?"

"Why do you think Master Yee-soo-chi sealed it off?" Dyson asked as he shrugged.

"No offense, but why is Petra your wife? She barely acts like a proper princess." Erick said.

"I didn't want a prim and proper wife, plus, most women here in Dalaam can barely talk to me without going red, talking about me, or so on."

"Well...it still doesn't seem appropriate to bring Petra with us." Moon said quietly. "I don't sense any PSI energy from her...and it's not like you have a weapon."

"I have a crossbow."

"I stand corrected."

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take her with us." Sarah said. "I mean, Giovanna saved us from Shroom...so...maybe Petra could save us from whatever this is."

"Sweet, let me go grab by bow and we can be on our way."

The five of them exited the palace a few minutes later and walked down the hilly town.

"Seriously, what mountain do you guys live on?" Erick asked as they made their way down the town towards the sanctuary.

"Actually, Dalaam is a floating country." Petra intervened. "Long ago the ancient PSI users raised our village from the Earth so we could be the long held sanctuary keeper of the Pink Cloud territory until the chosen heroes arrived!"

"Wait so we are on a floating island?" Moon said looking over the edge. He could see that there was a blue sky with a ton of pink clouds below, he couldn't see land below them it just looked like an empty blue void. "Wow...legitimately surprised...it isn't even that cold up here."

The five arrived at the purple columns into the little cave entrance that was being guarded off by black bunny statues with a keyhole in each of their mouths.

Erick took out the carrot key and separated the three keys attached to them. He placed each of them in the rabbit statues, the keys vanished instantly and so did the statues.

The five walked inside of the cave area. They could see that there was a rope climbing up to the top from where they were.

"Petra, you've been here before." Moon said looking around. "Which way do we go?"

"I believe you want to go up." the princess said looking up the rope. "But I advise you to be careful, we've got some rouge thunder clouds up there that won't hesitate to attack you."

"Alright then, going up."

Moon climbed up the rope and reached the top. The second he did a small cloud with googly eyes soared up to him and thunder cracked out of it striking him to the side. He quickly got up and launched an alpha level Rollin at it the cloud vanished with a poof.

"Sarah...do you still have that Franklin badge on you?" Moon called.

"Yes why?" she called back.

"Don't take it off, it seems like we are going to be dealing with a ton of thunder."

The remaining four climbed up the rope and they continued walking down a passageway to the left.

Danger!

A creature with the face of a man, and the body of a worm floated up to them. It had little tiny arms that held a flute to its mouth. It took notice of the five of them and blew loudly into its flute which sounded almost like an of nowhere several skeletons that were discharging electrical energy all around them soared into the room at a high speed.

Moon launched off a beta level Rollin before any of the creatures could make a move. The multi colored beams shot off at high speed hitting a few skeletons around. Each of the skeletons made a motion to strike him with lighting by sending a thunderbolt at him.

"No you!" Sarah shouted jumping in front of him. Each bolt of lighting gathered up and struck her in the center where her Franklin badge was pinned, before exploding back at the skeletons with immense force.

Dyson froze several more skeletons that attempted to attack both of them from behind while Erick and Petra both shot a few more in the surrounding area. The monsters, despite maintaining heavy damage within their forces, didn't even turn their attention to the three of them.

"This is just...so...unnatural." Erick said as the enemies continued to be taken down by Moon and Sarah with bright attacks. "Every single time, they just always go after the two of them. It doesn't matter where, when, or what we fight...they just always go after them."

"PK Flash β!"

A flash of bright white light shone upon the five friends from one skeleton. Moon's night pendant suddenly began flashing and appeared to just absorb the light. When he turned to his friends, all four of them had the uncontrollable crying in their eyes.

"Why the goddamn hell was that so bright?" Sarah asked as she rubbed tear stricken her eyes.

Dyson took the time to use healing alpha on himself and Petra, they both quickly took a look at the things going on around them. "Friend Moon, deal with the enemies, I'll heal Sarah and Erick."

Moon quickly turned back to the entourage of enemies, the flute that the worm monster thing was using was calling more and more enemies as he continued. With his friends temporarily blinded, he needed some way to take out all of them at once. But first, he needed the flute out of the monsters hand. He concentrated on getting the flute from the monster with his mind, it worked, the flute shot out of the monsters hands and into his, he swiftly broke the flute in two.

"PK Earth!"

Several emerald green knight statues formed out of thin air before advancing towards the remaining enemies, they broke the skeletons in two and sliced the worm monster into pieces.

Moon let out a heavy sigh as he turned back to his friends. All of whom were now back to normal and ready to continue onwards. They continued onwards until they found themselves in front of a hole in the ground.

"You're safe to just jump down." Petra told them. "The magical arts of PSI will stop you from slamming into the ground, it's really neat." without saying another word to them, she jumped down the hole. Dyson and Erick followed after her and then Sarah.

Moon looked down the hole, he wasn't afraid of heights or falling from heights, it was more of the fact he felt that something was off. Out of nowhere, there was a small, stinging pain in his chest. "Heartburn?" he asked himself. "No...No...just...just power through it."

He jumped down the hole following his friends, he never heard himself hit the ground, instead he just kind of...stayed in the air. He noticed his friends looking at him in shock, he looked down at his feet and saw that he was still in the air. Also, quite strangely, the pain in his chest had vanished all of a sudden.

"Okay, Moon can levitate now, I'm ready to go home." Erick muttered.

"Well, there are records of humans being able to levitate with PSI...not many...but there are some records." Dyson said. "But...still."

"Okay, now quick question...how do I stop levitating?" Moon asked.

"I...I'm not sure...maybe try...telling yourself to stop?"

Moon shrugged, he put his thoughts on landing on the ground, after a brief pause he felt his feet touch the surface of the ground.

"Alrighty then, that settles that, the Sanctuary location is right over there." Petra said pointing towards an exit with a pink cloud behind it.

DANGER!

In a flash of white light, two ghostly figures appeared. One was a pale white color and was holding some sort of weird leaf. The other was a bright yellow with black devilish horns and a weird goatee mustache. Both ghosts took a moment to just stare at the five of them in silence.

"Storm...Master Giygas did say there were...four children, correct?" the yellow one asked.

"Yes Thunder."

"So why are there five children in front of us?"

"Hell if I know, just do what Master Giygas told us to do. Focus on Moon and Sarah, not their stupid friends."

"Right, of course."

The two ghosts let off a screech and lightning bolts began to develop around them. Sarah readied herself in front of Moon prepared to send the lightning right back at them.

"Thunder...hold your fire for a second."

The pale white ghost separated from its comrad and flew towards the two of them. Before either of them knew what was coming, it snatched the Franklin badge from off Sarah before tossing it to the side.

"NOW!"

Four powerful bolts of lightning struck the two of them, the explosion emitted from the ground point threw both of them into the walls of the cave.

"Keep the others distracted...let me deal with them."

Storm nodded and flew towards Erick, Dyson, and Petra. Dyson launched a gamma level freeze while Petra and Erick both respectively fired Lasers and arrows at it. The ghost twirled around their attacks with ease before making a movement with one of its hands. A powerful gust of wind pushed the three of them further away from Moon and Sarah. The three made an attempt to move back towards them, but Storm waved its leaf staff around and suddenly they felt wind pushing them back, forbidding them from going any further. Erick fired a laser shot at Storm, the beam was pushed backwards and nearly hit him.

"So...these guys can control thunder and wind...and it seems like they've set up a wind barrier, I doubt anything is going to get through this." Erick said with a worried tone. "Which means that...we...can't...oh no."

Moon and Sarah got up from their positions on the ground. Both of them felt an immense pain in their foreheads, they throbbed and stung really badly. Moon felt himself shaking, the pain was pretty unbearable, he looked at Sarah whose appearance was altering. Her shadowy dark side was flickering between her normal look. At that moment, nothing was more important to him than keeping Dark Sarah out of control.

Thunder and Storm both let off another screech, several more lightning bolts developed around them in the air and they readied their attack.

"PK Flash β!"

A blast of white light sent Thunder and Storm into tears, they started randomly shooting lighting all over the place. However, he didn't have time to worry about them at the moment. He quickly grabbed Sarah's hand and brought her close to him.

"PK Earth!"

A wall of rocks sprung up in front of them shielding them from the lightning strikes. He quickly rounded on Sarah who was now in her normal appearance looking at him with worry. He could feel impact from the bolts of lightning and his head throbbed really bad.

"Sarah...how...how are you feeling?" He asked weakly.

"I'm...I'm fine Moon." Sarah said. "Stop shielding me...I can fight them...we need to fight them."

Moon hid his face from her line of sight, however, she could still see sparkling tears dripping off him. "Are you sure you're fine?" He asked quietly. "He...He keeps hurting me...really badly."

A bolt of lightning struck the rock barrier which made the rocks shatter. Both Thunder and Storm crackled as they made their way towards both of them.

"PK Rollin β!"

"PK Love!"

Both multi colored beam attacks struck the two ghosts towards the wall. They both let off a screech and made more lightning bolts appear. Moon quickly pushed Sarah out of the way as the bolts struck him hard.

"PK...PK Earth!"

A huge boulder shot towards Thunder and Storm they both separated as the boulder collided with the wall dodging the attack. Moon felt the pain in his head get drastically worse as things moved on. He glanced downwards. His hoodie had become a solid black color and his arms and legs had turned to more a shadowy color. He couldn't let Dark Moon take control, not after letting this much corruption spread through him.

"PK Fire γ!"

Thunder and Storm were hit by a huge blast of fire from Sarah. The two ghosts immediately turned their attention towards her and generated some more thunderbolts. Moon promptly whacked them with his bat. The two ghosts changed their direction of attack and sent the bolts back at him. Sarah quickly jumped in front of him and the bolts of lightning gathered in the center of her chest where her Franklin badge had been repinned before exploding back at the ghosts. They were both struck by their own attack and then Sarah launched a gamma level freeze encasing them in ice.

She readied herself to finish them off when something caught her off guard. She all of a sudden just suddenly felt weak...and...tired...even sad. She looked to her side, Moon was laying on the ground, he was covered in a bit of ash and smoke, and he was struggling to even get up. Then he just fell flat...he just didn't move...at all. She felt a part of herself just...disappear...all of a sudden, she just didn't feel...complete.

"Moon?"

No response from him, she leaned down and felt around for a heartbeat...something just didn't feel right. She didn't feel anything...in him...or in herself...it was just...nothing...just a cold, dark, empty feeling. She fell to her knees, she was too weak to move, too scared to do anything, all she could feel was cold empty nothingness.

The ice shattered and Thunder and Storm readied themselves for a final blow on both of them.

Erick, Dyson, and Petra all rounded back towards the area they had been pushed from, they saw Sarah on her knees by a motionless Moon. While Thunder and Storm prepared to knock both of them out cold.

Dyson's hand began flashing a bright blue.

"Dyson you can't!" Petra said warningly. "It's forbidden, you aren't allowed to use it unless it's absolutely necessary!"

"Moon and Sarah are literally about to die!" Erick snapped at her. "If there was ever a necessary time to use a forbidden move IT WOULD BE NOW!"

"Friend Erick is right Petra...I must do what I can to protect my friends...PK STARSTORM ⍺!"

Several light blue meteors began to rain down from out of nowhere. The meteors struck Thunder and Storm into the ground where they moved no more. The wind barrier in front of them vanished and they quickly ran to Sarah.

"Friend Sarah...are you okay?"

She didn't respond, she just sat there on her knees, crying silently.

"Sarah?" Erick asked kneeling down next to her. He waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't blink, she didn't move, she didn't say anything. If it wasn't for the fact that they could see tears flowing down her cheeks constantly, they probably would've thought she was frozen.

"Odd," Erick said observing her closely. "It's like she's...half dead...like...I get that Moon's heartbeat stopped." he added removing her hand from Moon's chest. "But...the Sanctuary will heal him...his heart has stopped in the past when he Diamondized, both of their hearts stopped working when Shroom nearly killed them...so...he'll definitely be back to normal once we put him in the Pink Cloud. But why is she so out of it?"

"There is a way for that to physically be possibly in a state of matter." Dyson said. "But...the only way that is even possible...is…" the young prince's face turned to more of a worried expression. "But...that's...impossible, there's no way that they're…if they are...then...they're in trouble...that is forbidden. They're in deep trouble with our ancestors...no wonder Thunder and Storm got them so badly."

Erick looked at him and Petra, both of them were now very worried about something.

Petra shifted uncomfortably. "Dyson." she said slowly. "Y-Y-you don't think that they're actually."

"There is a simple test we can do here, let's just get the two of them in the sanctuary and fix them."

Erick and Dyson carried Moon into the sanctuary while Petra slowly guided Sarah in. They were on a relatively large pink cloud at the center of Dalaam's weird floating island structure, in the center there was another pink cloud shaped in a swirl. Sarah eventually blinked back into existence as Moon slowly lifted himself back up. A soothing melody rang through the ears of the five friends, Moon and Sarah suddenly had another vision, this time, they could see the faces of their mothers, only they looked younger.

"_Awe, how cute...the two of them are so quiet together...it's almost like they know each other."_

The vision then ended being closed on by the black and red striped book with the blue hand reappearing again, this time the voice let out a sigh before saying.

"_I'm sorry that things ended up this way, but your world became too unstable...I need to fix what she broke...otherwise...we could kiss our existence goodbye."_

Moon and Sarah blinked back into reality. Their friends were each waiting for them to be done in the sanctuary. Moon let out a silent sigh before pulling out the sound stone from his backpack. The small white stone had been glowing very brightly it settled down when he touched it with his hand.

"Six down...two to go." He said to himself. "In only two months, we've collected six of the eight sancturary locations. We've still got a long way to go." he placed the sound stone back in his backpack before turning to Erick, Dyson, and Petra. The five walked back through the cave where they came to a dead end, the only way out was through a hole in the ground.

Moon made an attempt to jump down before Dyson held his arm.

"Is something wrong Prince Dyson?" he asked.

"Um yes." the young prince said hesitantly. "During your fight with Thunder and Storm...Petra and I noticed something...worrying about you and Sarah. We don't have a reasonable way to test if what we think is true or not...but we know the basic premise...you won't mind if Sarah is the last to come down...do you?"

That was a weird request...but it wasn't like there was anything wrong with it. "Sure...I guess." Moon said. He took a deep breath and jumped down the hole. He landed on the ground in another passageway. The second he did, he felt the small twitchy pain in his chest return. A few moments later, Dyson and Erick joined him at the bottom.

"Friend Moon, pardon me for asking...but do you feel pain anywhere?"

"Uh yeah...a little stingy pain in my chest why?"

Dyson looked like he was ready to faint. "I'll...I'll explain in a second."

Petra and Sarah landed on the ground next to them. The second they did Petra nodded towards Dyson with a sad look on her face. The young prince turned to his friends, took a deep breath, then said.

"Friend Moon...Sarah...you two are...heartbound."

"Are you just now realizing that we are in love?" Sarah asked.

"No...we knew that you two were in love...faith foretold you two being more than friends...but um...you two are uh...well...rouge PSI users." Petra said.

"I'm confused, what are you two getting at?" Moon asked.

Dyson let out a sigh. "Long ago, ancient PSI users discovered that emotions played a factor in the strength of their physic powers. Love was the most powerful emotion of all, it brought PSI power levels to nearly quadruple of it's usual power. However, one thing that the ancient users could never figure out, was how to couple with Love's unusual way of well...being an emotion. They created a method known as a heart boundation, which would lock two people's hearts together...basically marking two people as lovers forever."

"Okay...so...why are you telling us this?" Sarah interrupted.

"I'll explain in a second, let me continue the tale." Dyson said. "While the boundation seemed harmless at first, it was soon discovered to be a very deadly. The two people bound together would be in a constant state of pain should they ever become separated. They share a functioning half heart to each other...Moon when your heart stopped beating because of the amount of damage Thunder and Storm had given you...the other half of your heart that exists within Sarah stopped as well."

Moon and Sarah both looked at them with puzzled looks. However, it seemed that Erick understood what they were saying.

"So...Moon and Sarah share a heart that eternally bounds them together. Should they ever be separated from each other their bodies put them through torture, make them sick, weak, and so forth?"

"Correct." Petra said. "But um...there's...there's another thing as well...you two are well...basically more powerful than we could ever imagine...your love is natural...but it's also forced...your PSI powers are basically...overpowering themselves between your balance of love and the outside force that makes you love."

"Okay...so...power and love...Me and Sarah...a bunch of pain...it's nothing new to either of us. Why are you making such a fuss about this Dyson?"

"Friend Moon, the process by which two people become heartbound...is...completely forbidden. Forced love is a deadly weapon...it gives you power that you aren't supposed to have naturally. Because you and Sarah naturally love each other, the forced love basically multiplies your already existing love. Your PSI powers could become unstable without warning...think back...has there ever been a time where either of you have felt immense power?"

"Well...when I was kidnapped by Monotoli...in his building when I first learned how to use PK Love, I remember that the explosion destroyed the entirety of his office, I also broke several windows, made people scream in pain, and caused the building to crack...all without even trying to."

"Going off of my memory." Erick said. "But Giygas...sorry...Dark Moon told me something in Fourside...he was able to destroy an entire illusion and use an omega level of your PSI attack."

"Wait...you've met Giygas?" Petra asked.

"Er...right...um...we don't really have the time to explain that here...I'll tell you about it in private later Petra." Moon said.

"Why in private?" Dyson asked with a hint of suspicion. "Also...why you?"

"Just...to avoid suspicion...and...also...personal reasons." Moon said looking down at his feet. He noticed a small box wrapped in a red bow. "Hey...a present box!" he said. "Wonder what's inside."

He opened the box and found two weird cylinder shaped objects inside. Both were made of gold and looked like they wrapped around something. "Um...okay?" he said.

"Damn is that really?" Dyson asked snatching it from him. "Wow, it is, this is one of the legendary Dalaam king attires! These are the bracers of kings I'll definitely be putting these on." he added slipping the bracers over his arms. "Now, back to the palace, it is almost nightfall, tomorrow, we discuss where to go next."

* * *

**(Early next morning)**

Moon was leaning over on top of one of the many balconies throughout the palace. The sun was just starting to rise and he had to admit, the scenery of Dalaam was certainly enjoyable, sure their local delicacies in terms of food were a bit weird as he had learned from dinner last night. But overall, he liked being up here.

"You requested to speak with me?"

Petra walked out onto the balcony next to him. She was fit into her usual attire and was curious to know what he wanted, but he wasn't quite sure how he wanted to handle the current situation.

"Could you um...just maybe...hold my hand for a second." Moon asked extending a hand to her. She took his hand and he waited for a moment before saying. "Look at your arm Petra."

She looked down at her arm, she could see a shadowy streak of light moving from her arm to his. The shadowy light vanished upon reaching his skin, which was the same shadowy color. In her eyes and his, he looked like his darkside, the only difference, was that his head still had yet to turn shadowy and his eyes and hat remained blue.

"Sorry I had to...corrupt you...I just...needed you to keep quiet." Moon said quietly.

"So...what's wrong with you?" Petra asked him. "Why is your skin all shadowy, why did your hoodie change from blue to black? More importantly, why did I need to keep this quiet."

"Because, only certain people can see Giygas' corruption on my body. I've been giving Sarah a medicine that stops the corruption from spreading...which is why she looks normal. Everytime our dark sides take control...the corruption begins to spread throughout our bodies."

"So...shouldn't Sarah be able to see the corruption then?"

"I've kept Sarah blissfully unaware of this problem because I don't want her to see it...after a while the corruption will settle into her brain and she'll be able to see it...but that's only if it makes it there...I worry that Sarah may start to freak out if she knew...so...I've just been giving her the cleanser until she's ready to learn."

"So...why can I see it?"

Moon bit down on his lip. "Princess...there are some things about my past that are better left unsaid...I made a horrible mistake in the past with someone who could see corruption...just like you. My decisions and priorities since then have been drastically altered. I do everything I can to prevent the same mistake I made back then from happening to Sarah. I've kept her close, I've kept her informed at a safe pace, and most importantly, I've held her in my arms to comfort when times seem uncertain for her future. I made a mistake that I don't forgive myself for. So please Petra...I'm just asking you to...be...be a friend...and please don't tell anyone what you can see. They won't understand...your gift is special."

Petra nodded. "Moon, I know we've only known each other for a few hours...but I can tell that this is really important to you...I'll support you every step of the way...if you ever need anything, I'll be here in Dalaam for you."

"Thank you...princess."

The two walked back into the palace where Sarah, Erick, and Dyson were waiting for Moon.

"Finally...you two took a while." Erick said. "So...what's the plan? Are we heading back to Summers to take the ferry to Scaraba?"

Moon shook his head. "I'm...I'm feeling a bit...uneasy recently." he said. "I...I kinda want to take the day off, visit my family back in Onett for today...you all don't mind do you?"

"No, not at all friend Moon." Dyson said. "We understand that family is an important part of everyone's life, if you want to visit your family for today...then we can do that."

The chosen four got together after Dyson kissed Petra goodbye. Dyson concentrated on teleport beta and the chosen four began to pick up speed as they moved in a circular motion, then, they shot off into a pink portal heading towards their hometown. It was then that Moon realized something he hadn't thought of before...two months had gone by since he started his adventure...then...that meant...today was his and Sarah's birthday.

As they picked up speed and shot through portal Moon felt himself squirm on the inside, he knew what he was going to have to do when they returned home...which meant that he wasn't going to be spending their special day together until much later...he hated that...today was supposed to be a special day for him and Sarah...but he wasn't going to be there with her...instead he'd be doing something that he wished he never had to do.

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter. Next time, we return to Onett for a chapter that as it stands, is probably going to be all filler...but good filler in terms of lore. Anyway, while we are on topic of this, our return to Onett is going to be kind of a major standpoint towards the series and will also serve as sort of a...difference. While their are no current plans moving forward, the scenes in which we are in Ness' world are added to serve more as a sequel teaser, and while I don't have plans to continue with the sub smash plot that I just casually mentioned, I could if you want to keep seeing that. They are also meant serve as more of a use for Paula who, if you haven't been able to tell, is going to play a major role in this story. So there's that.**

**Either way, this chapter and the next one are two that I've been writing at kind of a rough point in my life, school's been getting a bit stressful and since I'm on my school's golf team, I've been unable to put as much work into stuff as I wish, this story writing has sort of become my main point of relief and knowing that people out there are actually reading it is really nice for me to think about, because I know people are reading it, I don't want to abandon my work on this Story...also, you may have noticed that this story's summary has changed, yeah, kind of did that to give it a bit more character. My story is currently being written with the development of two other Earthbound retellings _Wisdom, Courage, and Friendship._ by MetroidMan101 and _Bound By Our Hearts_ by PhoenixClaw, both of which are amazing stories that have given me inspiration to keep this series up, I'm probably in no position to advertise these but hey, got to shout out my inspiration sometimes, even if they are my competition.  
**

**Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, leave a review if you want to let me know how this series is going...and I'll see you in the next chapter.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: A Blast From the Past.**

The chosen four shot out into the streets of Onett, the sun was rising over the trees that littered the outside area. They had teleported out by the video arcade. Moon quickly took a look around, as he expected there were several kids outside all of whom had taken notice to the four of them.

"Wow you guys have an arcade?" Erick said looking at the building. "No wonder you're a gamer, you grew up in a town with an arcade!"

"Yeah, I actually have a high score on the Galaga machine." Moon responded. "But...we need to get going, my house is in the outskirts of Onett...it's the first house you'll see taking the path. So that's where we should be going."

The chosen four walked down the streets of Onett, Moon led them through the street. His friends did however, notice something a little peculiar. As they walked down the streets of Onett, several people took the time and effort to move away from them whenever they noticed them. They mainly moved out of their direct line of sight and watched nervously as they walked by. Moon didn't seem too bothered by everyone's weird behavior.

"Very odd." Dyson said as a few kids around the age of thirteen ran across the empty street when Moon approached them. "It seems like...everyone is afraid of something."

After a few more minutes of walking they approached a girl with dark skin tone she had her hair dyed purple and, unlike everyone else in Onett, actually approached the four of them, she looked pretty angry.

"So...you think you can just leave and then show back up two months later like nothing would go wrong Moon?" she asked furiously.

Moon let out a stifled groan. "I don't have time to waste with your stupid beliefs that are nothing more than lies Monica."

"Lies? LIES! YOU KILLED HER! SHE TRUSTED YOU!"

"You can't prove that, and do you want to know why? Because I didn't kill her. Now, if you'll excuse me...I have places to be." he walked around the girl and left her behind with Sarah, Erick and Dyson, all of whom, were staring at her dumbfounded.

Monica looked at the three of them in rage. "You may want to take this advice to heart." she said bitterly. "Stay the hell away from him, everything he's ever told you about himself is a lie. You don't want to end up like Olive, your family wouldn't be the same way ever again." the girl turned and stormed off.

Sarah, Erick and Dyson stood still for a moment, before they quickly regathered their sense and walked quickly after Moon.

"Moon, what was that about?" Erick asked in shock.

The chosen leader didn't even turn to face his friends. "It's not right for me to explain it to you, you're my friends...and that's the way I wish to keep it." he said slowly. "I'm not returning to my house with you three, it's not safe for me at the moment...it appears that "this incident." has gained too much of a following again thanks to Pokey. Sarah...I know that this is going to hurt you, but I promise I'll stay as close as I can...and to anyone who asks you that isn't my mother, Sarah, Erick, you are to not have seen me since Threed."

"But Moon...why...what's going on?" Sarah asked nervously.

"My mother will explain it to you...it's best that way." Moon muttered. "Erick, Dyson, I trust in you to keep the whole thing with Sarah and I a secret...my family knows we're in love...but don't say a word about our dark sides or that stupid boundation."

Both boys nodded in understanding.

"Thanks...I'll see you three later today...or maybe tonight...it depends." Moon turned around and walked into the woods.

Sarah watched him go...she couldn't help but feel deeply upset with this whole situation. She was about to meet Moon's family...and he wasn't even going to be with her. More importantly, because of their boundation...she was going to be in pain.

"Friend Sarah, are you sure you're going to be okay?" Dyson asked. She gave a reluctant nod.

The three walked up the pathway towards the outskirts of Onett. There were two houses in the outskirts, one a relatively normal house, but compared to the house next to it, it looked like a small hut. "Well he said the first house." Erick said. "So...I'm guessing the bigger one is Pokey's."

Outside of the house there was a black and white police car parked in front of the gated front yard. The trio walked past it and through the gate up towards the house. Erick knocked on the door only to here several shouts coming from inside.

"Ah hah! I knew he'd be coming home! This just made my job so much easier!"

The door opened and they were greeted with a police officer with a stern face dressed in a black uniform. The officer's face fell upon seeing the three of them there.

"Oh, never mind then, who the hell are you three?" he demanded.

"OFFICER STRONG!"

A woman in a magenta dress stormed up to the officer from inside of the house. She had blonde hair and like Moon, had sapphire blue eyes. She took a moment to take a deep breath before saying.

"Officer Strong, I get that you got new evidence from Pokey, but that doesn't help your case at all! My son did not kill Olive, he has told you time and time again and he has given you evidence to support that he didn't kill her."

The officer glared at the woman. "Mrs. Wolfe, we haven't seen Olive or found any records of her from other cities...your son is conveniently the only one to have even assumed that she ran away and he just so happened to find a letter explaining it! I don't give a damn what your son said. This news from Mister Minch is immicrimating enough on your son's-"

"If my son said he didn't kill her, he didn't kill her, and until you find some hardcore proof that he did that isn't the word of a selfish bullying child whose kept this secret for a year, and like my son, has left Onett on an adventure, I'm going to believe him. Now, get the goddamn hell off my property, my daughter has been through enough torture at school for these antics and the more you keep this up, the more I'm going to be complaining to the school system for stuff that she doesn't even have a part in."

"Fine I'll go." Strong muttered. Then he quickly looked at Sarah, Erick, and Dyson. His lip curled into an evil smile. "But first...Mrs. Wolfe...you say you haven't heard from Moon since he was in Threed?"

"Correct."

"Well, this young lady here might offer some sort of clue to where he is...and I'm free to ask her whatever I feel since she isn't your daughter." Strong said smugly, he pointed at Sarah. Moon's mother bit down on her bottom lip.

"Sarah Polestar, you left your family in Twoson to go out with Moon, you're his girlfriend correct?" Strong asked.

"Y-y-yes." Sarah said shakily, she started to feel a little light headed and queasy.

"Very interesting...so...why are you here? Where is your boyfriend?"

"Well...I...um." Sarah said quietly.

"I invited them here." Moon's mother interrupted.

Strong looked at the woman suspiciously. "Mrs. Wolfe if you are lying to protect your son-"

"Just like you officer Strong, I too wish to find my son. Just so I can warn him, if he's even alive, to never come back here. I was hoping that Sarah and Erick would be able to provide some help. They are under my supervision, and you aren't to take them anywhere, or ask anymore questions...now get the hell off my property!"

Officer Strong grumbled. "Fine, but this ain't over lady...mark my words...I'll find that evidence I'm looking for, and when I do, your son is going down." the officer marched away from them and got into his police car. He then drove off down the road back to Onett.

Moon's mother let out a sigh. "I'm so sorry you had to see that, you must be the friends of my son, Sarah, Erick Andonuts...and you are?" she asked looking at Dyson.

"I'm Dyson, the prince of Dalaam."

"EEK! A PRINCE?"

A little girl around the age of seven charged up to the doorway. She had long blonde hair with a red bow tied into it. She wore bright pink dress and, unlike Moon and his mother, had black eyes. She did a little makeshift curtsey in front of Dyson before looking up at him.

"My big brother is friends with a prince! I can't believe it!" she said jumping up and down. "This is sooooo awesome!"

"Tracy...please get back to doing your schoolwork...these three are here for a reason." Moon's mother said calmly. "I need to speak to them, as I'm sure you three are very confused about this whole ordeal...please come in...make yourselves comfortable on the couch."

"So...hold up...Moon's last name is...Wolfe? Erick asked.

"Yes...I know it sounds stupid, but that's our family's last name."

"No matter, please Mrs. Wolfe...what seems to be the problem...why are so many people on edge, and why are the police looking for Moon?" Dyson asked.

"That's...kind of a long story." Moon's mother said. She got up and walked over to the refrigerator where she took a photo off and brought it back to them. The image showed Moon and a girl who wore an olive green sweater with a big red O in the center, she had curly, flaming red hair and the two looked quite happy together.

"This is Olive," his mother said. "As I'm sure you three could probably tell...Moon...is...weird."

"We like him for his quirks...no matter how...strange some of them are." Erick interrupted.

"Yes, I figured that was probably the case. Anyway, Moon used to be quite a happy and playful child...then when he turned three...it all began to change...he started...acting strange. It started with him playing rougher with other kids things like pushing during tag and throwing a ball really hard. It started to get worse as other kids started not wanting to be around him. After a while, he basically became an outcast to the rest of the school. He developed a more quiet and quick temper personality. His interest suddenly became him going into the woods more often than usual. He's developed quite a knack at navigating, been able to throw people who attempt to follow him off his own trail quite easily."

"So...he's had it really rough then...he just hasn't been normal." Sarah asked quietly, there had been a surprising lack of pain...but she just felt really sad.

"No, not really, Olive was a sweet girl, Moon managed to find comfort in her, and she was the only person at school that was willing to talk to him. She was his only friend for basically as long as I could remember."

"So...what happened to her?" Erick asked.

"That's...the problem. Two years ago she just...vanished without a trace. Moon had just turned twelve and that was where everything sort of fell apart. Moon was missing for a full day as well, he returned later that very night. When they asked him if he had seen Olive he said no. There was suspicion of course, but there was no solid evidence...it was just a stupid belief that the police force put in everyone's mind...I don't believe that my son killed her, you three shouldn't either."

"So what about Pokey?" Erick asked. "Moon seemed to have bad blood with him."

His mother looked disgusted at the sound of that name, she let out a sigh. "After Olive went missing, Moon started hanging around Pokey, basically acted as his bodyguard. No one at school dared mess with him and Pokey's constant use of our son was certainly unpleasurable, Moon knew Pokey didn't consider him a friend, but he still hung around with them for whatever reason. I constantly told him to stop...but he said he had to stick with Pokey." She took a moment to take a deep breath for continuing.

"Then, Pokey returned from Happy Happy Village pretty annoyed with my son for some reason. Said something about...stealing his biggest opportunity at life and love...Anyway, he claims that he saw Moon and Olive go into the woods together the night before she went missing...now everyone is basically convinced that my son killed her. Then he said the reason Moon acted as his bodyguard was so he'd keep quiet."

"Well...I'm not saying they're wrong, and as Moon's friend I won't believe them." Erick interjected. "But...um...logically ma'am, everything seems to add up."

"Well, that's the thing...Moon was always a quick thinker, he went to Olive's house and found a letter she had written, he turned it over to the police and suspicions of him were lowered a little...but of course, with the police force being as corrupt as it is, they ruled the letter as his writing...and that's basically it, this whole thing has really taken a toll on Tracy and I. Tracy only has a friend in Pokey's brother Picky and one girl who just accepts that Tracy is Moon's sister and has been a good friend. She's constantly put through a lot of bullying at school."

Sarah, Erick, and Dyson just sat there quietly. Each of them had grown up in a life of comfort and happiness with friends and family who were always there for them whenever they needed them. Meanwhile, their leader, their friend...he just...didn't have that...it was like a sick twisted punch in the stomach to each of them. Especially Sarah, she felt her insides squirming and she just kept resisting the urge to cry. Thinking about everything Moon had ever said to her...about happiness and enjoyment...and how much she meant to him...it was just...too much.

"Sarah...I want to thank you...well...let you know...when I heard Moon on the phone with you, he sounded the happiest I had heard from him in a long time. The postcard he sent us only confirmed my suspicions. It seems that my little boy has finally found happiness with you...I used to worry that he'd never find anything in his life he felt good with after Olive disappeared, you've helped him...and I can't begin to thank you enough for that."

It took everything in her will to not start crying...she had to stay strong...his family didn't know what she knew, if she started crying she'd spill it out.

Moon's mother let out a sigh. "I do assume that Moon was with you?" she asked. "He just had you three come up here just in case there was trouble?"

"Yes...he told us to just come here." Dyson said.

"I was hopeful that was the case...I'm glad that he decided to come home on his birthday. Tracy and I were going to celebrate even if he wasn't here...but he'll be happy to know that we had a party planned for him."

Sarah squirmed, it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her tears in.

"Well, regardless, knowing my son, he won't return until later tonight. You three are welcome to stay, Moon's room is upstairs, the furthest room across the hall, it's been kept well organized and he's got a Nintendo Switch with some extra controllers that we bought for Tracy and her friends to use...so please...make yourselves at home."

The three walked upstairs and headed towards Moon's bedroom. They entered into a relatively big sized room. He had a queen size bed in the corner near a window which faced a decent sized television on top of a bed stand. There was a large bookshelf in the side of the room with several books and different video games on them.

"Moon really loves video games." Erick said examining the shelf. "He's got the entirety of the switch's library."

"What is the fascination you guys see with these games?" Sarah asked as she pulled out a copy of a game listed as Super Mario Odyssey. "I've played some games with my friends in Twoson, but they've only ended in people shouting at one another."

"What video game was that?"

"Mario Kart."

"Why am I not surprised." Erick muttered.

"Well, friend Erick, perhaps you wouldn't mind showing us the thrill of these games. I'm most interested in this one about a legendary adventure by a person named Zelda."

Erick let out a groan. "Just because the name of the title is Zelda doesn't mean the protagonist's name is Zelda!"

"So then why is it called the Legend of Zelda, friend Erick."

"Never mind that." Erick muttered. "Let's just find something to do until Moon gets back then I guess we can celebrate his and Sarah's birthday...hopefully that will make him happier considering this whole situation."

Sarah started to feel her insides crawling again, she bit down on her own lip trying not to cry.

"_Sarah?"_

"M-M-Moon?" she asked.

"_Sarah...are you okay? Is she hurting you? What's wrong?" _

"It's just...after everything I've heard about you...I just feel so...upset...but...if I start crying then-"

"_I'm coming home, you obviously need me."_

Sarah felt herself start to panic. "No...No...don't come." she said quickly. "The police are still looking for you...please don't come...they may show up...please just don't come...come only when it's safe. Moon please!"

There was a moment of silence before he started talking again.

"_Sarah, if you don't want me to come home and comfort you then you have to let it out, you can't keep your sadness bottled up for me...Dark Sarah can and will take advantage of that...so either I come home...or you let it out."_

"B-b-but what...what will Erick and Dyson think?" Sarah asked

"_Sarah...you've told me that they're our friends...you've started changing...you're starting to question things that were once things you had great confidence in...the old you had trust that our friends would understand our problems...please Sarah, just tell them...they deserve to know."_

She was suddenly snapped back to reality, with a great surge of pain in her chest, plus all her bottled up feelings, she couldn't hold it in any longer. She fell to the floor and started crying, Dyson and Erick both jumped at her sudden outburst and quickly moved to help her.

"Friend Sarah...is something wrong?" Dyson asked.

"He's...he's never talked about his home." Sarah cried. "He never said anything about what life was like for him...and now I know why! I know why he acts the way he does around us! I just can't take it...He's been so protective of us...because we LITERALLY ARE the best thing that's ever happened to him."

"Well...he...he had Olive." Erick said.

"Have you seen the way he acts Erick? He's completely pushed her out of his life! Whatever happened...he wishes to forget it! He's never mentioned her, he didn't even want to explain it to us! I know he didn't kill her! But something happened between both of them! Moon says she ran away? She was his only friend! His only point of comfort and happiness! She abandoned him!"

"Friend Sarah...it seems pretty unreasonable to just be jumping to a random assumption."

"No!" Sarah shouted. "It's true! That's why he acts so protective of me! That's why he cares so much about me! Everything he's ever said to me, everything he's ever done for me! He's just desperately trying to keep me safe, for his sanity, for his well being, for his happiness! His love for me is so strong because I'm the ONLY ONE he loves!"

"Sarah...you're being overdramatic." Erick said slowly. "We don't know the full story with Olive, heck, for all we know, we could be friends with a killer." Sarah shot him a look of fury. "I'm not saying I believe the story." Erick added. "Just that without the full story, you shouldn't be jumping to any assumptions!"

"BUT I HAVE THE FULL STORY!" Sarah cried. "Dark Moon squeezed his love for his family out of him...he's squeezed out his happiness, he's squeezed out everything positive except for his love for me...because it's too strong! Our friend, my boyfriend, has grown up in a life of misery, sadness, despair, and loneliness! We grew up happy, loved, cared for! What did he grow up with? Nothing, absolutely NOTHING! No wonder it was so easy for Giygas to squeeze out his positive emotions, he literally had nothing to fall back on!"

Erick and Dyson both looked at her in silence. Neither of them knew how to deal with this type of situation. Moon had always been more confiding in Sarah, neither of them had been in a situation where they had someone spill out so much from one thing. Sarah had just broken down in despair, all she did was cry...and cry.

"It would probably be a good time to mention that the boundation has a strange effect on their feelings." Dyson whispered to Erick. "They are able to feel each others emotions when they run high. So...friend Moon obviously can feel her sadness within his own heart...she also gets sad the further and longer she's kept away from him...so there's no telling when she'll stop."

Erick let out a sigh and shook his head. "I just can't help but feel so helpless looking at her...I mean, how the heck are we supposed to help someone who can't control her own sadness"

"The best we could probably do is...try and comfort her the way friend Moon does. How do they usually calm each other down?"

"Hugging, crying, talking...and uh...kissing."

"Well, apart from kissing her, for obvious reasons, we can still help her out. Let's just try and pinpoint the state of her sadness." Dyson said. Both boys sat down on either side of Sarah.

"Sarah...what is troubling you so much?"

"It...it sucks!" Sarah cried. "The whole time I was with him, I always thought his behavior was just nervousness because of his darkside, now, I know his behavior towards me...it's because he's never been in a situation like this...he knows he loves me...but he doesn't understand it, he doesn't know anything about what love is like...all he knows is that it's good...and he has it for me. But it's...it's a challenge for him to show it to me."

"Um, I'd say he's done a pretty good job at showing you how much he loves you." Erick said.

"But he wasn't like that before!" Sarah cried. "Before, he was just...nervous...and not sure what to do...he wouldn't hold my hand...he wouldn't hug me...he didn't even want to share a bed with me the first time. He hardly showed any affection towards me...it was just an empty and nervous feeling that felt good...he didn't want to lose what little happiness he's had in years! So he was just too hesitant to try anything with me out of fear of scaring me off. It was only when I told him I would say something if he did something I didn't want to do that he became more relaxed."

Both boys bit down on their own lips...Sarah had become rather difficult for either of them to handle, she just cried...and cried...and cried.

"Life is just horrible to him!" Sarah cried. "Look at this...today is his...no...it's our birthday...our day of happiness, time to be with friends and family who care about you...and he can't be here with us...he can't be happy about our special day...he can't be with us...he can't be with me!"

"Friend Sarah, we understand that Dark Moon has messed with both of you on multiple occasions...you say Giygas is the one who has squeezed out his positive emotions, and...while that may be true, you need to keep your spirits high. Friend Moon loves you...faith foretold both of you being a couple...a chosen duo who would always have each others backs. You need to-"

"You don't know him like I do!" Sarah cried. "There's the part of me that just can't stand how much I know about him now! Because now I know...no matter how hard I...or...frankly anyone tries, he won't be happy...the best he can ever feel...is something he doesn't understand...do you know how hard that's been for me to carry with me? Do you have any idea how much this kills me? My boyfriend, your friend, we can't ever make him happy! He could play around, make jokes, and have fun with us...but he won't feel anything from it...do you have any idea how much that hurts me? To know that I'm with someone who I can't ever make happy?" She felt something on her shoulder. She looked up to see Erick in front of her...both his hands on her shoulders, giving her a look of joy.

"Sarah...stop focusing on what you can't do...and look at what you have done," he said. "You heard Moon's mother, she thought she'd never see Moon get close to happy ever again...You were able to turn someone who was on the brink of losing all positivity, someone who couldn't love, someone who was too scared to try anything, someone who, by the logic of everything I've heard, probably didn't even want to meet us! Sarah, you changed him into a caring and devoted boyfriend. Most people would've just given up...but you Sarah, you were committed. You knew that somewhere in him, there was still a little spark that was waiting to be lit...you've done something that would be an impossibility for anyone else! Stop crying...I know Moon would want you to. Your his girlfriend...Dyson and I are his friends...so, let's do what all good friends do, give him something he's probably never had before...an actual birthday party!"

* * *

Moon walked out of the woods into a clearing with a small island with a cherry blossom tree in the center of a crystal clear blue. He let out a sigh before walking up towards the fenced off village that stood close to it. A small sign hung on the entrance gate in.

_Fiver, A village of peace and prosperity...Population: 45_

Moon let out another sigh before walking through the village entrance, every part of him wanted to turn around and leave...to just go home and comfort Sarah...to just try and enjoy a day that had never been special to him. But for the reason of his own moral and conflict...he kept walking. He knew why he kept coming here...but he didn't like it.

Needless to say, he used to enjoy coming to Fiver, the town was a rather tight community, most villagers were farmers, but those who weren't ran small family businesses, there was a small marketplace with a stand for just about everything else, jewelry, books, and other stuff. A small bakery stood on the edge of town where probably the largest house in town sat just beyond it.

It was a two story white house that looked around the same size as his in Onett. He walked up two the house and approached the blue painted door. He hesitated for a moment, then he knocked on the door. He waited for a few moments before the door was unlocked and opened. He was greeted with a girl who had curly, flaming red hair. She wore an olive green sweater and a white skirt accompanying it. She let out a gasp upon seeing him.

"Damn it Moon!" She snapped. "How long have you been without that cleanser?"

"Twelve hours." he responded dully. "But that's unimportant right now...I...I need your help...can I come in?"

The girl let out a sigh before letting him in. She led him through the hallway into the kitchen. They both sat down around a four person table it was a glass table but it was still nice to be around. The girl took out a postcard with a picture of Saturn Valley on it before reading through it.

"Don't know how the hell you managed to get this too me." she said. "But...you did...so, you're out on an adventure to save the world huh?"

"Yeah...an insect named Buzz-Buzz told me I was a special boy...destined to save the world from an alien named Giygas."

The girl raised an eyebrow at that. "Fascinating...see, you're finally doing something useful with your life...good thing I stopped you all those years back."

"Don't remind me." Moon grumbled. "You know how I feel about that."

"Seriously?" she asked in shock. "After everything you've been through? You still think that you made the wrong choice? You were told that you were destined to save the world! You've got a girlfriend, and two other friends by your side! This is arguably the best thing that's happened to you!"

Moon shook his head. "I'm beginning to see now that the decision that I once considered to be a horrible mistake is slowly starting to change...but then again...it's not like things have improved."

The girl frowned. "Come on, I get that you feel wrong in being with...your friends...considering the burden that they can't make happiness with you...but come on, they've supported you, they've helped you, hell one of them loves you!"

"But I barely love her back!" Moon snapped furiously. "You think that's an easy thing for her and them to handle? The fact that they're leader can only barely find any enjoyment with them?"

The girl's face fell. "Oh...so...you told them? About...him?"

"What other choice did I have? I could barely control him in my times of uncomfort fighting all these monsters!"

"Well, regardless...it's good that you told them...so...who are these other legendary heroes? Who are your chosen friends to save the world? Most importantly...who's the lucky girl who gets to love you?"

"Well first is Erick Andonuts...I'm sure you know about him."

The girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Holy smokes, one of your friends is the son of the genius inventor? Lucky you."

"Then Dyson...we only met him recently...but...he's the prince of Dalaam."

"A FREAKING PRINCE? Your friends with a prince? The prince of Dalaam no less, that country is a legend amongst people here. Seriously...you saved your girlfriend for last when you've got a prince? The only thing that could top that was if your girlfriend was…" Moon went bright red, knowing what would happen if he told her, she caught sight of his embarrassment and cupped a hand to her mouth.

"NO!" she shouted. "She isn't! You're really the boyfriend of Sarah Polestar? The girl from Twoson with those special powers? She's your girlfriend who has helped you through and through?"

"Well...her powers aren't that special anymore." Moon muttered. "Dyson and I have them too."

The girl's jaw fell open at that. "Y-y-you've got...you've got those special powers? You can do what she can?"

"Well...not exactly." Moon said going red again. "She can shoot fire, ice, lightning and lasers, increase her strength, weaken others defense, cast a special type of shield that blocks her own powers, use telekinesis and telepathy, and that's about it...but Dyson can make a meteor shower and do some of the same things she can."

"So...what can you do?"

"Shoot lasers, make living gemstone knights, summon gemstones and boulders, hypnotize and paralyze, cast a shield, telekinesis, telepathy, and levitate...Moving on from that though...I...have a problem...the uh...the reason my supply of cleanser drained so quickly...is because...I...I sort of...gave Sarah a dark side...Apparently Giygas infused both us with a part of his soul...and um...I accidentally awakened that part in her."

The girl bit down on her bottom lip. "She...she does know right?" Moon nodded.

"I've helped her work through her problems and kept her darkside under control. She's a bit...emotionally unstable...but that's because apparently we also share a heart with each other so...I can feel when she's sad, angry, in very rare cases I've felt her happy."

"I notice that none of them are with you...where are they?"

"My house in Onett, Pokey...let it slip...that...we went through the woods together...so...police are back on their investigation...I came here to kill time until later today...and...to talk to you...Maybe get Sarah a birthday present as well."

"Oh damn it, I completely forgot...happy birthday...I know it doesn't mean anything to you, but it still doesn't hurt to remind you...so you and Sarah share a birthday?"

"Yeah...and we're...destined to be together...so...um."

His friend's eyes widened again. "You're not actually thinking of asking her to marry you...are you?"

Moon bit himself. He'd be lying if he said that the thought of marriage hadn't crossed his mind, after hearing what Dyson had said about himself and Petra, and then about how connected him and Sarah were...it didn't sound that stupid. But...what would that mean for them going forward?

"Moon?"

He shook himself back to reality before letting out a sigh.

"No...I'm not going to ask her that...the fact that it even crossed my mind bothers me...but...who knows, maybe if it looks like there is nothing we can do going forward...possibly."

"You've really thought about what you want to do with her...haven't you?"

"I can't leave...nor do I want to leave her." Moon said slowly. "I...I just can't help but feel guilty about what I've done to her though. I've corrupted her, turned her into someone that will be unrecognizable when our adventure is over. Nobody, not even her family or friends will be able to understand it...to them...the girl they once knew is now...someone who doesn't even love them."

"You don't have faith that they'll try and help her? You don't have faith that telling them about the problem would prevent an outcome like the one you think of?"

"No...it's not human nature to behave that way." Moon muttered. "The second someone hears that they aren't loved...they have options...none of which are suitable for Sarah's well being. Her friends will stop hanging out with her, her family would eventually give up any attempt at trying to make her happy. It'll just get worse and worse as it continues."

The two sat in silence as they looked at each other. Slowly, Moon's face, which was the only part of his body that wasn't shadowy, became pale

"Is something wrong?"

"She's really upset." Moon said quietly. "I told her to just let her feelings out...I didn't realize she had so much though...either that...or whatever they're doing is only making things worse." he gripped a part of the table. "Or...I'm so far away from her that her heart can't take it."

"I've never seen you act like this before...you...you really care about her...more than you've ever cared about anything else."

Moon turned to face her with a dead stare. "Olive...give me whatever's left of the cleanser's stock...I need to go, Sarah needs me."

* * *

Moon walked out of the woods near his house. He carefully looked around to make sure nobody could see him. Thankfully, since it was nearly sunset on a school night, there was no one outside. He didn't see a police car in sight, quickly, he moved to his house. He wasn't concerned about the fact that people had seen him with his friends earlier that day...people may have believed what Pokey said...but with the police force being so corrupt, nobody dared to submit sightings or extra information unless it was actually useful.

He approached the door and knocked on it. A couple moments later, Erick opened the door for him.

"Oh...hey." the genius said. "We uh...we weren't expecting you to come home so soon."

"Where's Sarah?"

The genius hesitated on his response. "Um...she's...in your room...she wouldn't stop crying...so we just gave her some space...we tried to comfort her...but she just couldn't cheer herself up."

Moon nodded, he had expected something like that. He let himself in, his mother and sister immediately embraced him a hug while King started barking.

"Welcome home Moon." His mother said. "I know it's not for long...and I know you're going to have to leave soon, but please, stay here for a while, let us celebrate yours and Sarah's birthday."

"Thanks Mom." Moon responded as he hugged her and Tracy. "It was very nice of you to remember my birthday...I'll go get Sarah and then we can start."

He walked upstairs and as he approached his room, he could hear muffled sobs coming from the inside. He opened the door and walked into his room. Sarah was sitting in the corner, curled in a ball, crying. He took a deep breath before closing the door and locking it, then he walked over to Sarah and wrapped his arms around her.

"Sarah?" he asked softly. "What's wrong?"

"I-I-It sucks." she cried. "Moon...how did you live like that your whole life? Without happiness, without love, how did you manage to survive?"

Moon hesitated. "Well...a small part of me...hoped, I hoped that there would be something out there that would change...give me hope that there was a decent future. A small part of me just had hopes that there was something...or...someone...out there for me."

"B-b-but how have you managed to keep positive at times?"

"Thanks to you Sarah...You gave me a gift that I thought I had lost. You've given me love...for the first time in a very long time, I've felt love again...you've given me positivity."

"Like what...what about our situation, other than our love and our friends...is positive?" Sarah cried. "We're losing our feelings of happiness and enjoyment...the only thing we have left is our love for each other!"

Moon hugged her. "It could be different." he said. "Somewhere out there, there's a different timeline, one where you and I are different. One where my darkerside didn't exist until our adventure began, one where I'm someone who has hopes, dreams, and happiness. Someone who puts his faith behind his hopes. One where you don't even have a dark side."

Sarah only cried harder at his response. "H-h-how was that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Because Sarah, in that timeline I picture...you didn't confess your feelings to me. You just keep them bottled up and act all childish at the mere thought of romance. Our feelings towards each other are nothing more than mere side thoughts, like a weird movie that you keep hoping eventually the two will just come together and say something, but they probably won't. One where you're too afraid to confess out of fear that I have nothing to give back to you. Maybe in that timeline, you've confessed it to Erick or maybe even Dyson...but not to me. If I had to pick between those two timelines...as stupid as it may sound...I'd choose this one."

Sarah had stopped crying and lifted her head up to look at him. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled as he brushed her hair. Both of them now in a state of comfort, the pain had disappeared, everything was fine. They both just held each other. After a while, they both separated.

"Um...Sarah." Moon said quietly, he rubbed his arm for a moment looking at her nervously. "I uh...I wanted to ask you something...rather weird."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Moon's face turned bright red as he looked at her. "Actually...nevermind." he said quietly. "It's a stupid thought that was unimportant...just forget I said anything. Let's just go enjoy our birthday."

It was a nice celebration. Everyone enjoyed a nice dinner of Tacos before being wrapped up with a nice big birthday cake acknowledging their fourteenth birthday. They all laughed and shared stories to Moon's family about their adventure. Sarah's family even called to say happy birthday to her as well. After the celebration, the chosen four decided to stay the night and leave in the morning. An air mattress was set up for Dyson and Erick while Moon and Sarah would share. But before they went to sleep…

"Hey, let's play some video games!" Erick said. "We've got the time to kill, let's just play Smash Ultimate."

Moon shrugged. "Sure, why the hell not? I've got every character, including DLC."

He loaded the game and the four of them sat down in front of the huge character roster selection.

"Damn." Sarah said, "Who the hell are all these people and creatures? Where did they all come from?"

"Different games from around the world come together to fight for the best." Erick explained. "We live in a timeline where Mario can fight Sonic, Mega Man, Ryu, Cloud Strife, Bayonetta, Joker from Persona 5, and freaking Banjo-Kazooie all at once!"

Sarah noticed the portrait of one fighter, it was someone she recognized in real life. He shared an eerie resemblance to Moon, the only difference was he had a red hat and didn't wear a hoodie, he also had black pupil eyes and hair.

"Um...Moon...isn't that...Ness?" Sarah asked pointing at boy's portrait.

Moon looked closer. "Damn it, that is Ness!" he said in shock. "I knew I recognized him from somewhere...so...he's real! Then does that mean that...we exist alongside the Super Smash Brothers?"

Erick let out a groan. "Why do I have a sudden bad feeling of a sequel?"

"Eh, let's not worry about that." Dyson said. "I'm most intrigued about these characters and their backgrounds...especially this Captain Falcon."

Moon stifled a laugh. "Sounds like someone is gonna be a Falcon main...No matter, I mained Ness from the beginning, kind of funny how I played him the most."

"Oh joy, a Ness main." Erick said. "Let me guess, you're just gonna side B all the time."

"Hey, Ness mains are great people! Especially those that played his game! I bothered to learn him...so you don't need to worry about that...but what about you...who's your main?"

"Link, proud and through...though, I will play Luigi, and R.O.B. from time to time."

"What about you, friend Sarah? Which of these characters do you wish to play?"

Sarah looked at the massive roster. So many characters to pick from, she hovered around a strange assortment of sword fighters, boxers, princesses, turtles, and other strange animals. She finally came to a halt on a woman with long green hair, she wore a white gown and carried a staff.

"No." Moon said flatly. "It's best you stick away from Palutena, Sarah...she's not good."

"Last I checked she was like...top tie-"

"Just don't play her...I don't like her."

"Alright then...let's go with this...alien creature...Mewtwo!"

The four played Smash together for a long time, laughing and playing as KOs were shared both stupid and not stupid. It truly felt like happiness was in the air...because for a while...it was. For now at least, eventually Dark Moon would catch up to it...and destroy it...Moon knew it was only a matter of time before this memory was lost...but it was nice to have a bit of a breather, after two months of long hard fought adventures and battles, this was nice and relaxing.

Now as he looked over his friends late that night, watching Sarah, Erick, and Dyson sleep, he started to feel uneasy. There was no telling what the future held for them, what battles and adventures they'd have. All he knew was that after this adventure, thanks to Pokey, he was probably never coming home. He wasn't sure what he was going to do from there. He looked at Sarah with a feeling of sadness overcoming him.

"Perhaps it's best that I break the news to her soon." he said to himself. "I'll tell her about Operation Darkness...and then about my situation...but...what will she think?" he asked himself. Everything scared him, all his life he had dreaded Operation Darkness...and now...it was nothing more than a harsh reality. He silently sat in the dark, thinking about that one thing. He shook his head. Times had changed for him, in ways both good and bad...but one thing he still had to hold onto was hope, something had to go right...it had to, things couldn't keep getting worse for him, things could change. If he just kept ahold of his hope...it might just come true.

* * *

**Well, we are finally done with the past. Sort of, we still have a few things left to cover that are saved for later. I want to assure you that my plans for this have remained unchanged. There was no intention for Olive to be dead whilst writing up to this moment. I am aware that I teased it to be like this, but that was more for the way of the townsfolk view Moon more than anything else. So I can probably hear you asking "What was Moon's mistake?" Well, if you haven't pieced it together, then I won't tell you. We'll dive into that a little bit later.**

**Also, per the request of a friend. I've decided that I will continue Ness and Lucas' little moment with the Smash Brothers, strictly for teaser towards the sequel, but it's going to open up a few questions that I plan to explore then. This section will for all intensive purposes, take place in the next chapter, probably to fill the first half of the pyramid adventure...or maybe at the end. Also, we've still got a book, a new PSI power, and a sword to introduce in upcoming chapters, which I will confirm now, are all going to be back to back. The Kraken, Scaraba and the Pyramid for next chapter, Dungeon Man and Deep Darkness for the next, then Winters and Stonehenge. Until then, leave a review letting me know what you like, or just say nice chapter. See you in the next chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Sand, Sea, and...Smash?**

The chosen four were now setting sail towards Scaraba. After waking up, eating a quick breakfast of Pancakes and Bacon, and teleporting back to Summers, they discovered the docks in the port town of Toto were re-opened. They had paid for a ride and had set off, ready to explore the mysterious pyramids of Scaraba and locate the Hawk eye.

The chosen four sat near the front of the boat. All of them enjoying the fresh ocean air that kept drifting into the area. The boat sped along the waters at a relatively good pace. Without much distraction, they'd be in Scaraba before lunch. For now though, they were just enjoying the peaceful boat ride to the town. Or so they thought.

Storm clouds suddenly made up the sky, turning it to an eerie gray color. Lighting started to crack and strike. Moon instant rose of his section and looked out towards the sea, he could see a bunch of bubbles surfacing out of the water, the bubble trail got closer and closer to the boat.

Danger!

A giant green tentacle shot up from the water then from below the sea. A giant creature that looked like a mixture between a dragon and a squid emerged. It let off a screech, before flinging one of its tentacles at Sarah who ducked out of the way.

"Release the Kraken!" Moon shouted.

"Was that really necessary?" Erick asked.

The Kraken towered over the boat casting it's giant shadow down upon them. It opened its mouth and fire shot out.

"PSI Shield Σ!" Sarah swiftly put up a shield protecting them and the boat from its fiery breath. The Kraken let off another screech and lighting bolts started to generate. Lighting strikes hit Moon and Sarah causing their shields to shatter, some bolts were reflected by Sarah's Franklin badge while others struck Moon with heavy force.

"PK Rollin γ!" Bright beams of light struck the Kraken who counterattacked by unleashing a mini tornado that lifted Moon up and flung him into the air. Moon waited for himself to fall, but he didn't instead he just stayed in the air. "Damn you levitation." he muttered. The kraken extended its tentacles out in an attempt to catch him.

"PK Freeze γ!" Both Dyson and Sarah unleashed beams of ice at the monster freezing its tentacles in place, the ice started to crack as it attempted to power through their barrage of attacks. Erick lit a bottle rocket which flew struck its center and exploded causing it to retreat backwards a bit. It let out a hiss and a pale green light suddenly surrounded Sarah and Dyson.

The Kraken swam over back to it's other area and raised one of its giant tentacles at Moon.

"PK Fire γ!" No fire erupted off of Sarah's hand.

"Damn it...it seems the Kraken has blocked our PSI." Dyson muttered. "Friend Moon!" he called. "You should be able to move during your levitation, just keep concentrating on it as you move!"

Moon nodded and quickly air dodged out of the way as the Kraken attempted to smack him down. He quickly used PK Earth to summon a few knight statues made out of sapphires which launched towards the Kraken. The knights slashed at its body and tentacles with only made the beast angrier. It quickly breathed fire at him knocking him off his footing then it smacked him down into the water with its tentacle.

"PK Love!" Several big, bright, multi-colored beams of light shot off from Sarah's hand striking the Kraken in the center. The creature hissed and shot fire at the three of them. The shield protected Dyson and Erick, then flames that went towards Sarah were suddenly directed towards her flame pendant where they were absorbed. The Kraken then made a strike towards her with its tentacles. She quickly ducked out of the way to avoid the strike just barely.

"We need a way to distract it." Erick said quickly. "We don't want to lose Sarah either, not with Moon being in the bottom of the sea.

"I have an idea of how we could distract this beast...it's a bit risky...but it may work." Dyson said.

"At this point I'm willing to try anything." Erick said as his laser shot one of the many tentacles. He heard a sudden splash in the water and quickly turned around, Dyson was nowhere to be seen.

"What the heck is he doing?"

Suddenly from the water below, another Kraken emerged from the water. This Kraken was entirely white with emerald green eyes and a black spike pattern on its back.

"WHAT THE GODDAMN HELL?" Sarah shouted. "You could shapeshift this whole time and never bothered to do it?"

"Technically, it only works on certain creatures...I can't hold this form for long though, it really drains my energy." The white Kraken hissed in Dyson's voice.

The green Kraken didn't seem to pay much attention to Dyson, despite the obvious shift in power. Instead it let off a screech before generating another mini tornado and firing it a Sarah. The tornado flung her into the air where the Kraken then wrapped one of its tentacles around her and slammed her into the water as well.

Dyson let off a screech similar to the Kraken's as lightning bolts appeared and struck down on the Green Kraken who let off a screech and summoned a mini tornado which surrounded Kraken-Dyson and flung him into the air he landed in the water with a giant splash before lifting himself back out of the water. Dyson breathed fire at the green Kraken who launched its own fire back at him the two created an explosion of heat.

"Frie...Friend...Friend Erick." Dyson hissed. "I-I-I c-can't...h-h-hol-hold this form m-much-" a bunch of white light surrounded the white kraken where it slowly formed back into Dyson, the young prince fell back onto the boat where he fought himself to get back up.

"Well...that was cool...for the few minutes that it worked." Erick said. "Now what do we do?"

Out of nowhere, a giant swirling water tornado shot out of the water. The vortex bent over towards the boat and set Sarah on it before lifting back up. It shot towards the Kraken lifting it up like the tornados had done to the heroes before flinging into the sky where it came crashing down on the water. The vortex finally settled down leaving a levitating Moon in the air staring at the Kraken evilly.

"Unbelievable." Dyson said in shock. "Friend Moon has hydrokinesis...another PSI power that we had no knowledge of!"

"PK Rockin Ω!" A giant blast of black and red lasers shot off Moon's hand, surrounding the Kraken and vaporizing it completely.

"Damn it...it's Dark Moon." Sarah muttered. Dark Moon slowly floated down back to the boat, he landed back on slowly. "Moon stop!" Dark Moon blinked, shook his head, but his eyes didn't go back to normal...instead he just smiled evilly.

"Well...the Kraken did its job better than I intended. Looks like your leader is too worn out to come back in control."

"NO! YOU GIVE HIM BACK!" Sarah shouted forcing him against the wall of.

"I can't do that sweetheart." Dark Moon hissed. "Technically standing, if I do give him back, I violate my agreement with Moon, bringing him back in this state would be bad on his...and your...physical health. His PSI energy has basically collapsed in on itself, basically, I give him back and it only hurts you...something that I'm not allowed to do." Sarah's hands turned into fists. "Which means that I'm free to do as I please until he's back...so for now...I'm your leader. I'll lead you...I'll take care of you for the time being."

Erick suddenly realized what was going on. "Sarah stop!" he shouted.

It was too late, Sarah's anger broke in her and her eyes flashed red. She turned to face both of them with an evil smile on her face.

"I'll be damned." she hissed. "That was certainly easier than I expected...Now...let's deal with another glaring problem we have." her hand started to emit black and red sparks she pointed at Erick and Dyson with a gun shape in her fingers. However, Dark Moon quickly stood in front of her.

"Let them be my love." he hissed. "There's nothing they can do about this situation. We have control over their bodies. Also...you can't harm them, it would be bad news for us if you did."

"But we've corrupted them enough to-"

"That may be true my love." Dark Moon hissed. "But remember, we're doing this for a reason, we can't screw around with them, we just keep moving forward."

Dark Sarah looked enraged by his comments but her hand did stop emitting black and red sparks. "Fine." she muttered.

"If I may intervene here." Dyson interrupted. "Why...do you intend on helping us Giygas?"

Both dark sides frowned at his question. "Technically, we don't have to answer your question." Dark Sarah hissed. "But just for your information, the name Giygas is irrelevant to us. We may technically be Giygas' soul with his brain and...well...I wouldn't say we have one, but his dark heart. But we see ourselves more as our hosts."

"As for why we help you idiots." Dark Moon hissed. "It's not like we have much of a choice, it's faith for the four of you to make it to Giygas. So even if we hindered you in every way possible, it wouldn't help us."

"So...I'm probably going to regret asking this...heck, the fact that I'm going to mention this is going to be stupid, but what exactly is stopping both of you from just...killing yourselves?"

"You clearly aren't as dumb as you look." Dark Moon hissed. "Yes, technically, there is nothing stopping us from just killing our hosts when we're in control. But...where's the fun in that? You four won't stop Giygas either way we go...that prophecy is nothing more than a lie. Plus doing it this way gives him two powerful weapons that will allow him to enact his revenge on the original chosen four."

"I have several questions about everything you just said."

Dark Sarah giggled. "Nice try your highness, but you aren't entitled to a required honest answer."

The boat had begun resailing towards Scaraba, leaving the Dark sides left to just talk to Erick and Dyson. "It's still another thirty minutes or so to Scaraba." Dark Sarah hummed coldly. "So...what'd you guys think of my Kraken?"

"The Kraken was yours as well?" Erick asked.

"Everything you guys fight is my doing." Dark Moon said, shrugging slightly. "My minions are littered everywhere."

"So then...why'd you kill it?" Dyson asked. "Wouldn't you want to keep your minions and allies alive?"

Dark Moon grinned evilly. "Apart from the Starmen, other aliens, the sanctuary guardians, Belch, and Pokey. My other minions are pretty dumb and stupid...Now...onto a more important matter, it seems that your leader keeps defying my expectations...Tabuu told me he was unlike anything we've ever seen...but he keeps getting more and more powerful...just like my sweetheart." he added.

"Tabuu?" Dyson asked with confusion. "Who's this...Tabuu person?"

"Tabuu is...next to Pokey, my best ally." Dark Sarah hissed. "He's a part of the Imperium Cluster. You'll learn about that later...don't bother asking us. Funny to think that he was actually once a worker of light until he was stupidly fired. He was desperate to continue his once harmless research, his anger at his previously good intentions got the better of him. So he came to me."

The boat docked at the town of Scaraba, it was a desert town with a bunch of sand. Clay brick houses mixed in with sandstone littered the town at every nook and cranny. Dark Moon and Dark Sarah jumped off the boat and began to walk through the town.

"Whoa...Giygas...sorry. Dark Moon." Erick said. "I know you want to hurry us along our adventure, but you can't ignore the fact that we should probably check and upgrade our equipment." Dark Moon rolled his eyes before letting out a sigh and agreeing.

The shops were all outside with many people in turbans and robes on blankets with goods littered out everywhere. Dark Moon picked up a bigger and heavier bat and gave it a swing. "It's not the greatest weapon for me...but it works." he hissed. He paid for that, alongside two platinum bands for Erick and himself, and a broken laser gun that resembled a cannon for him. When he handed it to Erick his eyes suddenly went unfocused.

"Uh? You good?" Erick asked.

His eyes slowly became soft and passionate. He blinked and shook his head. He looked around and when his eyes fell on Sarah he let out a hiss and grabbed her arm. "Sarah...stop." he said firmly. Dark Sarah blinked and shook her head as well. Then, Moon quickly rounded on Erick and Dyson.

"How long have both of them been in control?" he asked quickly.

"About...an hour or so." Erick said.

"Damn it." Moon dropped his backpack to the ground and fished through it for a bit before pulling out two glass bottles with a light blue liquid inside, both were capped off my a cork. He gave one to Sarah, the two drank the liquid in front of both of them before finishing.

"Friend Moon...what was all that about?" Dyson asked curiously. "Why did you suddenly panic. More importantly...how did you know that Dark Sarah was in control."

"I could sense dark energy around her and the fact that she wasn't happy to see me was everything I needed to know." Truthfully, it was just because Sarah's appearance had changed, but since none of them could see corruption, it wasn't worth mentioning. "How did Dark Sarah get in control." The second he asked that they heard a sniff, they turned and saw Sarah with her head down.

"I'm sorry Moon...it's just that...Dark Moon made me so angry...he refused to give you back because it would just hurt me...and...I just couldn't take it...I-I-I-I thought he was lying!"

Moon wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay Sarah." he said softly. "If I were you...I probably would've done the same. Let's just keep in mind that there may come a time when we are too exhausted to come back right away. As long as we at least tell them to stop, then they have to give us back the second we're refreshed."

He let go of Sarah and turned back to Erick and Dyson. "Alright...so...where to now?" he asked.

"According to the locals." Dyson said. "The ancient pyramids are located south of here. I've figured out that there we can't enter one without doing some sort of ancient puzzle in front of a sphinx statue in front of the biggest pyramid."

"Alright then...let's get going."

The four walked out of the town and towards the pyramids. The sun was blazing down on them and it was stupidly hot for all of them. After a couple minutes of walking through the harsh sun. The four arrived at a sphinx statue, there was a stone patted area in front of it with five weird plates in a star shaped position. Moon stepped on the one closest to the sphinx. A blue light shone on the ground and made the sphinx's eyes glow bright blue. Then the chosen four started to hear a voice emit from somewhere.

"_Are you a thief, a warrior, or one who has come to see my majesty?" _

"The hieroglyphics had a star shaped pattern with the numbers arranged in a specific order." Dyson said. "Let us follow that path to step on each one."

Moon walked in the direction Dyson told him. He crossed and moved to each plate in a star shaped movement. When he reached the last plate the same blue light emitted from the ground and the pyramid behind the sphinx suddenly opened a hidden door.

"_Warriors, enter now. Search for the Hawk's eye." _

The four approached the pyramid only to be halted by a familiar musical chime.

The photo man landed on top of one of the palm trees surrounding the area.

"Pictures taken instantaneously. I'm a photographic genius if I do say so myself. Alright get ready for an instant memory, look at the camera. Ready? Say Fuzzy Pickles!"

The chosen four struck a pose and smiled for the picture. The photoman vanished and they turned towards the pyramid. "Alright!" Dyson said. "Let's look for the Hawk Eye so we can get to Deep Darkness." The four entered into the pyramid, ready for whatever could stand in their way.

* * *

**(Imperium Cluster: Skyworld, Palutena's Temple)**

Ness and Lucas shot out of the orange portal in front of a massive entrance to a grand temple in front of them. Outside of the temple there was a brown haired angel with a cross staff sword that also function as a bow. He wore an all white outfit with two golden rings around his wrists. Upon seeing both of them he flew over to both of them.

"You both are late." the angel said.

"Well sorry for that Pit." Ness snapped. "It's not like we live here! After all, we weren't the ones who decided to call an emergency meeting."

Pit rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Lady Palutena is waiting for you two, the rest of the council arrived earlier. They're just waiting on you Ness."

"So why did I have to come?" Lucas asked.

"You'll see."

Both boys entered the temple and walked towards the meeting hall. When they entered the entire room turned to look at them. There were only ten others in the room. Two grown men with black mustaches, wearing overalls, with red and green undershirts, and a hat of the same color one with an M and one with an L on top of their heads. Next to both of them sat a brown ape with a necktie with the letters DK imprinted on it. A green dinosaur sat next to the ape it wore brown shoes. Next to the dinosaur was a boy around the age of 17 with pointed ears. He wore a blue tunic and carried a sword and shield with him.

On the other side of the table sat a woman in a robot suit. Her mask was sitting on the table and they could see her blonde ponytail which stuck out of her head. Next to her was a fox wearing some sort of humanoid space outfit carrying a blaster with a special sort of glass covering one of his eyes. A pink gumball creature sat next to the fox smiling happily, unlike the rest of them. The last seat was a man wearing a blue racing outfit with a red helmet and sharp pointed glasses on the front covering his face. At the front of the table stood a woman with long green hair and a white royal robe carrying a staff.

"Where are Pikachu and Jigglypuff?" Ness asked noticing the three remaining empty seats, one of which was meant for him.

"Mewtwo couldn't make it to translate their speech for us." The man in red said. "Anyway, thank ah you for ah coming on ah such a short notice Ness. Please, take ah your seat. You too Lucas."

Both boys sat across from each other before turning to face the woman at the front. The green haired female let out a sigh before looking at eleven of them.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I called you here all of a sudden." she said slowly.

"Yeah...your sense of timing is certainly a bunch of shit Palutena." the woman in the power suit grunted. "You call me and Falcon away from our jobs at the Galactic Federation, when, may I remind you, we are looking for Dark Samus, Ridley, Kraid, Blood Falcon, and Phantoon who have all mysteriously vanished for some reason. Just so we can talk again about some stupid newcomer invites?"

"Lighten up Samus." the fox said. "You know, if you ever need any help you could just call on us, team Star Fox would be happy to help you."

"Douglas and I work together for a reason McCloud, we don't need your band of standardized bounty hunters getting in our way."

"You all ah worry way too much." The man in red said casually. "I'm ah sure that your problems aren't ah doing much." The dinosaur and ape nodded in agreement.

The man in blue let out a snort. "You don't know shit Mario." he snapped. "Your cluster is always partying, having fun, racing go-karts with other clusters, and playing sports with Sonic's cluster. Very rarely do you have to go out and rescue your girlfriend from the clutches of Bowser nowadays. Meanwhile Samus, myself, and Fox live in a cluster of idiots who keep reviving our dead problems of dangerous psychopathic villains."

"They ah have a point Mario." the man in green said. "It has ah been quite awhile since-"

"Hush ah now Luigi."

"I do agree with Samus." The boy in the blue tunic said quietly. "Calamity Ganon may be dead in my world...but I still have my suspicions. I too, did not wish to leave Zelda to come here for another stupid talk about inviting newcomers. Especially since I may soon have another problem to deal with."

"Thank you Link." Samus said. "I wish everyone here was about as sensible as you are in terms of each cluster's politics. I'm sure Ness and Lucas disagree with us, they haven't had to do shit for a long time."

"Actually...Paula, Jeff, Poo, and I sort of encountered a problem of our own that we're trying to sort out." Ness said.

"Which...is actually why I called you all here." Palutena said. "As you know, it's been "years" since Tabuu ran rampant with the Subspace Army. However, Skyworld is still uncovering a bunch of issues that he has created...and...some recent evidence came to light with the multiverse. It appears that Tabuu was working for...Giygas."

Everyone's head turned to face Ness there were frowns from almost everyone, the only ones not frowning were Lucas, and Kirby who honestly looked more confused than anything else.

"Okay so Tabuu was working for Giygas." Lucas said, shrugging. "I don't see why you all are angry with Ness for that."

"Well, that ah means that your cluster is now entirely to ah blame for the subspace incident." Mario said furiously. "Now that we ah know that Tabuu was ah working for someone, someone who is ah supposed to be ah dead! We've now ah got many issues to sort out with you Ness."

"I would also like to point out that I recently went through files of your cluster, and it appears that the Giegue cluster has been hiding a fourth world in it. More specifically, a fourth world created by your friend Paula." Palutena snapped. "Would you like to explain that?"

Lucas looked at Ness with a bit of concern. "We only have three worlds...right?"

"Not quite." Ness said looking down. "We recently came into a massive time paradox with another timeline, it's similar to ours, except well, the Ness and Paula of that world are in love on their adventure."

"Ness...you do realize that Paula is in direct violation of the smash code right?" Link asked. "The creation of another world in another cluster is completely forbidden."

"She didn't mean to create it." Ness snapped. "She just felt guilty about never confessing her feelings to me and just wondered what would've happened if she did. She didn't know she'd create another world by doing that!"

"Ness...the Giegue cluster has gone completely rouge and is now responsible for Subspace and is in violation of numerous regulations we set in place." Palutena said furiously. "We called this emergency meeting to hold you accountable for ignoring your rightful duties as your clusters head representative...So, with that being said, we are revoking your-"

"HOLD UP!" Samus shouted. "You called us here, because you want to punish a child for violating the bullshit rules that you set in place? How was he supposed to know that his girlfriend was going to create an alternate universe? How was he supposed to know that Giygas had intervened with other clusters? Most importantly, how the goddamn hell does this make Ness responsible for anything? Ridley has mentioned in the past that Giygas had spoken with him. Hell, you yourself said that Giygas was one entity that you could never touch or understand Goddess."

"That ah may be true Samus." Mario snapped. "But that ah does not ah mean that Ness still doesn't have to ah take responsibility for this disasstor! His cluster has ah violated numerous rules that we have set in place."

"Rules that, may we remind you...were signed into effect by a vote." Falcon snapped. "The rules state that we, the council, have to vote on the fate of the cluster in violation. You can't just overrule that in a state of futile terror that currently has no effect on any other cluster."

"Fine then." Palutena shouted over all the bickering at the table. "We have twelve people here. Ness, as the one in violation, you aren't allowed to vote, the council, including me and Lucas in the place of Pikachu and Jigglypuff, will vote on your cluster's fate. How does that sound?"

The entire council nodded in agreement. Ness looked down at his feet, it was very clear what the verdict was going to be, no one seemed particularly happy with his clusters actions and it seemed like doom was set in place. Palutena cleared her throat.

"All in favor of removing Ness from the council, placing the Giegue cluster under observation, and relinquishing this new incident with the fourth world to the hands of Skyworld raise your hand." Ness looked up, as he expected, Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Paultena all had their hands raised. Mario quickly glared at Luigi who reluctantly raised his hand as well. Ness shook his head to himself, having four council members from the same cluster was very infuriating, and it didn't help that the Basidiomycota cluster, the cluster that those four came from, always voted alongside Pikachu and Jigglypuff, as a result votes were almost always tied and left to go to Palutena, who in terms, favored them as well. Samus cleared her throat as well.

"All in favor of clearing Ness from all charges and letting him deal with this problem himself, raise your hand." she said. Her, Lucas, Captain Falcon, Fox, and Kirby all raised their hands. Ness inwardly smiled to himself, he knew Lucas would never prosecute him, neither would Kirby since he was always so kind to others, Samus, Fox, and Falcon all came from the Locus cluster and as a result, we're usually voting together as well.

"Five to Five." Palutena snapped. "Link why the hell did you not vote?"

Link merely shrugged looking at the council. "I want to know one thing, and one thing only." he said looking across the table. "Why do you want him to relinquish control of his situation to you Palutena? He hasn't stated that there is any problem and you're just acting like he's committed an atrocity."

"I have my reasons." Palutena snapped.

"What reasons?"

"Well, I'll have you know that Tabuu seems to have divinely intervened with that world's timeline! He's altered it, I worry that he may have altered it to give Giygas an inevitable victory! Which means that Giygas could comeback!"

Link merely shrugged again, then he turned to face Ness and Lucas. "I think you are more than capable of dealing with this problem on your own." He said calmly, "So, I'll vote to clear you."

Ness let out a sigh of relief. When he turned to look at the council, Palutena was looking at them in fury.

"Very well then," she gritted. "You all may return to your clusters now." with that, the green haired goddess teleported out of the room.

Mario, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi all stood up silently and walked away. Luigi followed after them reluctantly but before exiting turned to them and said.

"Sorry, I ah wanted to vote to clear you...it's just that my ah brother...well...you know." he said before leaving the room.

Ness turned to the remaining members of the council. "Thanks for believing in me." he said.

"Listen kid." Samus said. "You aren't the only one here who's cluster has broken the rules, plus, we're all getting pretty sick of that goddess thinking she can just push us around. Douglas, Fox, and I will have your back."

"Poyo?"

"Sorry, Douglas, Fox, Kirby, and I will have your back."

"So will I Ness," Link added. "I know my vote has been flip floppy recently, but I think you've got this under control. If Palutena tries to do anything else, we'll do our best to stall for you."

Ness nodded and turned back to Lucas. "Alright then, let's get going shall we?" the blond boy nodded in response. Both boys shot through an orange portal to return home.

Douglas turned back to the group after the portal closed. "How long until that goddess tries to take control of this situation again?" he grumbled.

"I give her three days at best." Fox responded. "Let's just get back to our assigned duties and hope for the best."

* * *

**(Giegue Cluster: Dark Sanctuary)**

"Why the goddamn hell is this pyramid so freaking big!" Moon snapped as they entered yet another room. There was a mummified statue on a pedestal, they had been in the pyramid for who knows how long, fighting living hieroglyphics, spiders, and mummies.

"It is likely that the ancient warriors wished to protect the Hawk Eye at all costs." Dyson responded. "That would explain the heavy fortifications."

"Okay...well, this seems to be the last room." Erick said, walking around the area. "There must be some sort of hidden door somewhere, it has to be something like that." he suddenly stepped on a part of the floor that sunk a bit into the ground. Blue light shone through the cracks of the sandstone bricks moving towards the mummy on the pedestal. Instantly, the pedestal started to move to the left unveiling a hole below it.

"Nice job Erick." Sarah said. "Let's jump down."

The four landed at the bottom of the hole to a weird eye in a weirdly cut rock. It leered them all the way down and followed them as they moved about.

"That must be the Hawk Eye." Moon said approaching it. "Now...here's the real question. Are we gonna have to Indiana Jones this?"

"Probably not." Erick said. "It doesn't seem like anything could possibly fit in here."

Moon took the rock from the statue and heard a voice go through his head.

"_So...you are the mighty warrior that wishes to claim the Hawk Eye...or are you merely a thief trying to steal this priceless artifact? This royal guardian shall test that!"_

Danger!

A giant purple rock monster emerged from the ground.

"Welp, from a Kraken to a royal guardian made out of rock, what's next another pile of puke?" Erick asked.

The royal guardian let off a war cry and stomped on the ground with its massive foot. A mini earthquake shockwave shot through the ground causing all of the chosen four to trip. Moon quickly got up and launched a gamma level PK Flash at the titan, it didn't stumble back or seem to get affected by the bright white light that shone off him.

The titan countered by unleashing a punch with its massive fist. It knocked Moon across the room and into a wall where he hit with a pretty hard thud.

"PK Freeze Ω!" A huge beam of ice shot off Sarah's hand encasing the titan in ice. Dyson then launched a gamma level thunder at the titan. Each bolt of lightning struck the ice statue which caused the titan to crack and the ice shattered. The titan swiped at them with its huge purple hand Sarah quickly ducked under the attack.

"Erick do you have a bottle rocket or something?" she asked ducking under another swipe from the titan.

"Are you out of your mind Sarah? If I launch off a bottle rocket and it misses, the whole pyramid might cave in on us!"

"Well can you do something other than just stand there?"

"PK Hydro!" A giant blast of water shot off from where Moon was, the water blast pushed the titan into the opposite wall of the pyramid. It got back up and stomped with its foot again the mini earthquake shook the ground again pushing them around. The titan reached down and grabbed Moon and Sarah before lifting them up its fist crushed the two of them together as it just held them tightly. Then it made a motion to try and step on Erick and Dyson.

"Shield Σ!" Two walls of light stopped the foot dead on. The titan tried to increase its pressure on them. Dyson let out a grunt.

"Now would probably be a good time for that forbidden technique of yours." Erick said nervously.

"I can't use another PSI power without losing focus on the shield, if I lose my concentration on that, then we're gonna be squashed like ants."

Moon and Sarah both watched as they felt their insides being crushed by the golems fist.

"S-S-Sarah." Moon gasped. "I-I-have an idea...find my hand and grab it...then...Use PK Love...on the count of three...okay?" Sarah gave a weak nod it took her a moment, but after a bit of wiggling her hand around she finally found his. "Alright...one...two...three!"

"PK LOVE!"

"PK ROLLIN γ!"

A massive explosion of light and energy shot from the Titan's fist it vaporized the arm of the titan while the rest of it was surrounded in heavy light. It didn't vaporize fully but it freed both of them from the grasp of the titan and caused it to stumble backwards. Moon quickly wrapped his arms around Sarah and flipped in the air so that she was above him. Then his concentration on his levitation broke and both of them fell to the ground. Moon felt a heavy slam in the ground but he did at least cushion Sarah's fall.

The now single armed titan let off another war cry before forming its other arm into a fist and raising it above them. Moon felt Sarah's hand erupting sparks...he tightened his hold on her and put up a shield so the fist was halted. The titan raised its hand again before making another attempt to shatter the shield. Sarah made an attempt to break free from his hold and get off of him, but he just held on to her. She looked at him with evident concern.

"M-M-Moon...W-why...why won't you let me fight?"

Moon let out a wheeze and cough before saying. "S-Sarah...I can feel your PSI energy...it's nearly out...if it runs out, you'll be too weak to fight off Dark Sarah...just...stay put...let me hold you...let me keep you safe." the purple fist slammed into the shield again causing him to flinch. Sarah kept struggling, she was trying to break free from his hold, but all he did was just tighten his bear hug on her. He looked her in the eyes and saw that she was starting to cry.

"Moon...please...stop trying to keep me safe!" she cried quietly. "I can finish him, I can stop him, You're going to get us killed! If you don't let me stop him Erick and Dyson may not be able to! Moon, I'm begging you! Please just let go of me!"

Moon didn't give into her pleas, "Please Sarah, listen to me." he said softly. "Please Sarah, relax, let go, stop thinking that you can protect everyone from her by yourself, you can't, I made that mistake and it nearly cost me everything, please just listen to me, relax, let me take care of you, let me protect you, let me help you, please Sarah, stop fighting...let go...relax." he could feel Sarah starting to put less force into her attempts to break free, then she slowly just fell on top of him and clung to him.

"Moon...please...I'm scared...I don't want to die...please let go!" The giant slammed its fist back on the shield causing Moon to shudder again.

"You aren't going to die Sarah, I will keep you safe...I promise. Everything will be fine. Just ignore the outside world...let me take care of you."

The two held each other in silence, the entire world faded around them, all they were focused on was each other. They just held each other in their arms enjoying their comforting time together, all their problems seemed to just vanish as they held one another, neither one of them wishing to let go.

"Friend Moon? Friend Sarah?"

They both blinked, they were now lying on the ground in another tunnel near the pyramid's exit. Dyson and Erick were both looking at them.

"Thank freaking god!" Erick groaned. "I was worried we'd have to carry both of you through the desert. Also, may I ask how the heck you managed to keep such an iron hug on Sarah even when you were both unconscious because we couldn't separate you two to save our lives."

Moon went bright red and he and Sarah stood up. "Um...I developed a fear of letting go in times of comfort with my Dark side. I usually only let go when I think it's necessary...So with...the only person I love...it's really hard for me to let go."

"But...Moon…"

"It's alright Sarah, I'll tell you later...So...where are we off too?"

"Well Deep Darkness I'd suppose." Dyson said. "If I remember correctly, it is located south of Scaraba through the deep sea that makes up the boundaries between this desert and the Deep Darkness."

"So we've gotta cross the sea...again?" Erick groaned. "Jeez I wonder what stupidly convenient way will just so happen to present itself that will allow us to accomplish such a task!"

"Friend Moon has hydrokinesis." Dyson said. "Perhaps he can split the sea in two and allow us to walk through it."

"I feel like we'd probably be ripping off something a bit too controversial if we pulled that stunt." Sarah said solemnly.

The four exited the pyramid where a man wearing a tattered gray cloth with a long gray bread, gray eyes, a bald head, and no shoes was standing holding onto a cane or staff. The man approached them when they had finally gathered outside.

"The stars foretold that I would meet you all here." the man said. "It is a pleasure to see you again, Prince Dyson. As for you three, Moon, Sarah, and Erick. It is a great honor for me to finally meet you."

"This is the Star Master." Dyson said to the three of them. "He is the one who taught me how to use the forbidden Starstorm technique." he turned to the man. "It is very nice to see you again star master."

"Likewise Prince Dyson. However, I am merely here to provide you with directions on where you are supposed to go, I was originally going to separate you from your friends so you could study and learn the forbidden Starstorm technique. However, Master Yee-Soo-Chi said that it was best you learn it before your adventure."

"Well that's nice." Erick said. "So, where are we off to?"

"Across the desert there is a very large structure dungeon." the Star Master said, pointing to the west. "You will find what you need in order to progress towards the Deep Darkness." he handed Dyson a key. "This key will allow you to enter the dungeon structure, do you four understand?"

The chosen four nodded. "Very well then, I should probably get going Da-" the Star Master fell quiet. His eyes looked between each of them before coming to rest on Sarah.

"Young lady, could you please step forward?" he asked.

Sarah stepped up to the Star Master. The man walked around her, observing her carefully.

"Very odd." he said slowly. "It seems that despite all your long, hard fought battles, you still have yet to reach your full potential. There is still some power residing within you that refuses to be unleashed." he extended one of his hands out of her. "Please, take my hand."

Sarah did as she was told and she was instantly thrown into a vast flowing area, numbers and letters shot all around her as she heard many different voices fill her head. Then she was flung into a very odd vision.

A boy who she recognized as Lucas from Super Smash Brothers was standing in front of a titanium steel spider pig thing. Behind him on his left was a woman with flaming red hair wearing a blue robe, on her shoulder was a small brown monkey with a blue collar. On Lucas' right stood A man with a crooked leg and small developing beard and a dark brown dog.

The woman's hand flashed brown and she shouted. "PK Ground!"

The ground began to shake and the robot spider pig fell to the ground after a violent few shocks from the ground. The woman then had her hand flash bright blue

"PK Starstorm!"

Several blue meteors began to rain from the sky where they struck the robot causing it to explode into several pieces. Sarah felt a lock break within her and voice whispered.

"_PK Ground." _

She was flung back into the voided landscape of letters and numbers before pausing very intricately to hear something strange.

"_Again, I'm no romance guru Willow, but if you don't tell him, someone else will snatch him up and you'll be left just regretting it for the rest of your life."_ A voice that sounded close to Erick's said.

"_I'd like to see them try to take Sapphire"_ A voice that sounded close to her responded.

"Maybe...you should say something." Sarah called out.

"_Huh? Did you say something Anthony?" _

"_No...Why?"_

"_Ah forget it, I'm probably just hearing things at this point."_

Sarah was forced back into reality where she blinked, then she withdrew her hand.

"Well, perhaps I was wrong." the Star Master said. "Anyway, I better get going, also, I shouldn't say anything, but it'd probably be best to let you know that Petra hasn't been in the palace since this morning, we are sure she's out somewhere, just thought I'd let you know." With that, the man vanished as a tornado swept by him, carrying him off into the distance.

"The Star Master is right." Dyson said calmly. "It's best that I do not worry about Petra, Dalaam is a floating country and is completely hidden, she's probably back at the Pink Cloud again."

Moon spun Sarah around, "Hey...are you okay?" he asked. "I could've sworn I heard you talking to someone."

Sarah nodded. "I'm fine, let's just head to the dungeon."

The chosen four then set off through the boiling hot desert to try and find the large dungeon structure they were looking for.

* * *

**(Giegue Cluster: World Sanctuary) **

Ness shot out of the orange portal into the streets of Twoson. He looked around, the streets were empty and there was not a person in sight. Which was very strange, considering the fact that it was mid-day.

"You're back sooner than we expected."

Ness turned to see Paula, Jeff, and Poo walk up to him. "What did the smash council want to talk about this time?"

"Um...yeah...about that." Ness said rubbing the back of his head. "I...I nearly got kicked off the council."

"What...why?" Paula asked.

"Um...Paula, you sort of...broke one of laws that the council wrote up. If you truly did create Moon's world, then um you would've been put on trial...probably could've gotten Lucas and I suspended from the tournament...and also could've gotten our cluster placed under supervision."

"All because she created an alternate universe?" Jeff asked.

"The creation of another world is completely forbidden, our cluster has three worlds, Paula accidentally created a fourth. But knowing everything I do know, your charges were going to be way worse than just that."

"What other charges would have possibly been brought against our world for that?" Poo asked.

"You guys remember the Subspace Incident I told you about...right?" All three of them nodded.

"Yeah...um...apparently the head operator of that, Tabuu, he was working for Giygas."

Jeff groaned. "I think I can see where this is going." he said. "Let me take a guess. Because Tabuu worked for Giygas, that makes our cluster responsible for the near destruction of the entire Multiverse, which the...Imperium Cluster?" Ness nodded. "Is not happy about, it also means that Giygas has broken rules of no trans-cluster communication, and now the whole multiverse is against us?"

"Yes...and No," Ness said. "Listen, there's bigger issues we've got to deal with at the moment. I need all of us to stay together, I don't know how long we have until something comes up that confirms that other clusters are in danger. Hell, I don't know if something like that will come up. But if it does, we're all in trouble. Link, Captain Falcon, Samus, Fox, and Kirby, all promised they'd stall as long as they could. But I'm not sure how long they could hold them off. A situation like this requires everyone in smash to take part in a vote."

Paula started shaking. "Ness...what's going to...what's going to happen to me?"

Ness looked her in the eye. "Nothing Paula, I promise, nothing is going to happen to you. I've already decided what we're going to do."

"What's the plan then?" Poo asked.

"I've got a week's cooldown until Palutena can call another meeting, plus about three weeks maybe four knowing how hard it is to get Cloud to even show up, to get everyone from the multiverse to a meeting. So we've got one month, which is about how much time is left on Moon and Sarah's adventure."

"I don't get why Moon and Sarah's adventure is relevant to any of this." Jeff muttered.

"Just pack your things." Ness said. "Pack weapons, clothes, food, and anything else you think you're going to need!"

"Ness...why...can you please just tell us why we are doing this?" Paula asked.

Ness looked at his friends. "If Giygas does beat Moon and Sarah...he's going to turn towards the rest of the Multiverse as well...with them as his weapons...starting with us. We aren't going to let him do that. We're going to put a stop to that."

"How exactly?" Jeff asked.

"We are going to Dark Sanctuary. That's Moon and Sarah's home world. We're going to stop them from losing."

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. When I said I'd continue the sub smash plot, I merely meant I'd show you what went down at with the Council of Smash, originally it was planned to be anonymous with only casual mentions to other smash characters. However, I changed that on the request of my friend.**

**As mentioned, my friend who was supposed to take the place of Dyson is going to be a sort of helper when it comes to the smash sequel, the mention of Ridley, Blood Falcon, Dark Samus, Phantoon, and Kraid will make sense when get to that sequel. Also, in terms of how the clusters work, that'll most likely start to make sense in the next chapter with the introduction of the Demonrift, strap on you all, because our story is really gonna start getting crazy real soon. As if it wasn't already crazy enough.**

**As for that little easter egg to another story, I haven't read the latest chapter, which was posted last night, so if I just caused an inconsistency I do apologize. Anyway, leave a review letting me know what you think, and I'll see you all next week for Dungeons and Darkness.  
**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: Dungeons, Darkness, and a Demonrift**

The chosen four kept trudging through the smoltering hot desert at a slow pace. The sun burned down on their heads and they kept panting over how absurdly hot it was.

"It's...so...freaking...hot." Erick groaned as the four crossed over yet another sandy dune. "Why is it so hot?"

Moon promptly whacked a random UFO that whirled up to them to the side. "Who knows, but I hope we can find that dungeon before the heat wears us down enough so Giygas' minions can finish us off."

The four wandered around the desert being worn down of both PSI energy and physical energy. After an hour or so of aimlessly wandering, they finally found a large stone structure, two eye holes were carved into the top with a pointed nose and frowny face. There was also moss growing all around it like a hat.

"Is...Is this the dungeon the Star Master was talking about?" Sarah asked.

"Possibly...there is a little keyhole here, let me see if I can use it." Dyson inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it, a stone door swung open allowing the three to enter into the dungeon.

"Whoa, this place is ginormous!" Sarah said, looking around. She was trying to hold it together the best she could. She felt really tired and weak, stupidly hot, not to mention a lack of PSI energy. She felt really lightheaded and dizzy. But she was just trying to pull through.

"Well, let's keep exploring then." Erick said. "We've gotta find something that will help us cross the ocean. So let's get searching."

The four walked around the dungeon, there were presents littered all over the place, but they didn't bother with making their way through the maze like patterns that littered the area.

Danger!

Several robotic octopuses teleported in front of them. They waved their metallic tentacles around before firing several lasers at them. Moon struck one beam with his bat reflecting it back at one robot who was destroyed instantly. Dyson froze a few robots which Erick then blew them up with a stick of dynamite.

Sarah readied herself to attack when she suddenly stumbled, her vision became disoriented and the world began to spin. She felt beams hit her on all her sides and she tried to hold on to her surroundings, desperate to find a way to show her worth. She was sick, queasy, and hot. She began to see spots, she saw the room spin, then she passed out.

Sarah arrived in the voided landscape. She felt exhausted and still felt really hot. Her head stung and her vision was still very hazy.

Dark Sarah appeared in front of her, smiling evilly. "Well, today's my lucky day isn't it?" She hissed. "You're too tired to do anything, so I'll step in from here...It's my turn to help you."

"No!" Sarah shouted. "No...I don't need you to help...I can do this myself!" she blinked back into existence. Still very weak, very hot, very sick. The robots weren't even focused on her, despite being so open and vulnerable, instead they were still shooting beams at Moon, Erick, and Dyson, who seemed oblivious to the fact that she was on the ground. Shaking, she lifted herself off the ground.

Then she started coughing. She coughed and hacked with a scratchy throat, it felt horrible, she felt like she was slowly deteriorating, she fell to her knees and vomited. Instead of normal gunk being upchucked, a black essence shot out of her mouth.

She was flung back into the mindscape where Dark Sarah was now sitting down and smiling evilly at her.

"Still don't think you need my help?" She asked smugly.

"No...I...Don't...Need...your...help!" Sarah shouted.

Dark Sarah shrugged. "Moon would want me in control." she hissed. "Seeing the state your in, he'd know that it'd be better for me to be in control...technically standing...you keep trying to force yourself in control when you shouldn't be. Which is why your condition is only getting worse."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Sarah shouted. She was snapped back to reality, she looked down at herself, her hands and legs were the same shadowy color as her darkside and her dress was a solid black color. She vomited up more of the black essence as she stood up, shaking.

"_Why the hell won't you listen to me? I'm trying to help you! We can't both be in control at the same goddamn time! Your physical and mental health are starting to deteriorate!" _

Moon noticed Sarah's weak and sick state as she struggled to move about. He watched her stumble around trying to catch her balance. His heart started to sink when she vomited again.

"Shit, really? The corruption is already starting to settle into her brain?" he asked himself quietly.

"_I'm sure you remember very fondly how bad that was for you, and I'm sure you remember the procedures all too well. Right?"_

Moon bit down on his lip. Dyson and Erick finished off the remaining robots and looked at Moon and then noticed Sarah.

"Friend Moon...what is happening to her?" Dyson asked.

Moon bit down. "I'll...explain in a second...it's best that you all hear this." Sarah then fell to her hands and knees vomiting more of the black essence. Well to her and Moon, it was a black essence. To Erick and Dyson, it was blood. The three boys ran to her side, Moon knelt down beside her while Erick and Dyson moved over to her other side.

"Don't touch her." Moon said calmly.

"What why?" Erick asked.

Moon bit down on his lip again. "Um...this is...a side effect of Dark Sarah." he said. "Dark Sarah, despite being a soul of Giygas, is technically only 3 months old, she's still a young minded influence. While she has been in Sarah since she was a baby, she wasn't around until Dark Moon awakened her by kissing Sarah. Her Dark side did mature more quickly than Dark Moon since Sarah is more mature with her emotions than I was at the age of three. When her Dark side reaches "maturity" she'll start to see some strange changes that only we can see. I can't really explain them to you." He was cut off as Sarah vomited up more black essence which splattered over the three of them.

"Shit!" Dyson hissed. "Why does her blood sting like acid?"

"It's...it's not Sarah's blood." Moon said. "It's a type of...corrupt blood...which...um I don't really know how it works but yeah it's a thing."

"So why can't we touch Sarah?" Erick asked.

"Dark Moon made contact with Sarah which sent corruption to awaken Dark Sarah. I worry that if either of you make contact with her, that the same might happen to you."

"Dark Moon told me in Fourside that he didn't have control over me because he only needed you and Sarah." Erick contradicted.

"Yeah, but I don't want to take any chances, I don't want you guys to go through what Sarah is having to deal with. I know what needs to be done in this situation, I'll deal with this."

"W-w-what's...what's-...happening to me?" Sarah cried in probably the weakest voice they had ever heard.

"Shhh." Moon whispered softly. He sat down placing Sarah's head on his lap, he placed his hand on her forehead. Sarah made a motion to lift herself up, to which Moon gently forced her back down.

"M-M-M-Moon...I'm fine!" Sarah wheezed. "L-L-let's keep going...We...we have to!" her hand suddenly started to glow, Moon caught sight of it and instantly covered it with both of his. He felt a blast of heat that seared in his palms and fingers making him flinch in pain.

"Sarah...you're powers are malfunctioning!" he said quietly. If I hadn't covered your hand you would've burned all of us!"

"There is a doctor in this dungeon." Erick said. "Let's get her to him."

"A doctor won't do Sarah any good." Moon said. "The only way to fix her problem...is to let Dark Sarah take control."

Sarah made a motion to try and get up, which prompted Moon to grab her and wrap her in another one of his hugs. This made Sarah start to squirm and kick helplessly. "NO!" she shouted. "I'm not letting her out! I'm not! I'M NOT LETTING HER OUT MOON!"

"Sarah, you're too exhausted, your PSI energy is in shambles, and most importantly your in an incurable sickness that will only get worse the longer you keep her in! You need rest, You need to let her out! You're only making life worse for yourself, I can't stand to watch you suffer, so if you aren't going to let her out willingly...then I'll just force her out myself...and I really don't want any of you to see that."

Sarah continued to kick and squirm in his arms screaming and begging to be let go of, refusing to listen to him. With each passing second Erick and Dyson noticed Moon's face slowly change from caring to irritated.

"Sarah...I'm warning you...please...don't make me do this." he said, while tears slowly started role down his cheeks, his tone however, was starting to shift from caring to a more unpleasant. "Please...once I start...I won't be able to stop I've been withholding this from you...and I really don't want to do this...so please...for the better of our lives...relinquish control...I'm begging you...please...don't make me do what I'm about to do."

She didn't listen to him, she just flailed and squrimed in his arms the whole time she did, she was screaming and begging for him to just let her go. Moon bowed his head burying his face in her hair, then Sarah heard him whisper, in a voice so low only she could hear it.

"I hope you can forgive me for everything that you're about to see and hear."

"_Oh now you've done it." _Dark Sarah hissed. "_I'm going to enjoy this!"_

It was at that moment she knew, she had just screwed up big time.

Moon shoved her off of him, and not gently, he literally threw her off of him. Erick and Dyson jumped at his sudden outburst, but before any of them could even do something about it.

"Hypnosis Ω!"

Both of them collapsed onto the ground. Moon slowly walked up to a still weak Sarah who was looking at him in fear, in her eyes, he looked like his darkside, the only difference was that his eyes still remained there sapphire blue color.

"M-Moon?" she asked in worry.

"SHUT UP!" Moon shouted. His voice wasn't cold, this was his own voice. "JUST SHUT THE GODDAMN HELL UP YOU LITTLE WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT!" Sarah quickly made any attempt to avoid listening to what he was going to say by letting go, her eyes flashed red.

"Ah ah ah." Dark Sarah hissed. "Where do you think you're going sweetheart?"

"_I'm letting you take control so I can rest...just like he asked."_

"Like hell you are!" Dark Sarah hissed. "What? You think I'm just gonna stand here and take his anger outburst for you? I only need to be in control for a second so that the corruption could settle into your brain...I'm throwing you back into the world, sure, you'll still be tired, but it won't matter. Plus, he's been hiding too much of who he really is from you, so how about you take the time and listen."

Sarah blinked and shook her head Moon was still looking at her in fury, he still looked every bit like his darkside with the exception of his eyes.

"M-M-Moon...what's wrong with you?" she asked nervously

"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?" Moon shouted. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU SARAH?"

"N-nothing...n-n-nothing is...wr-wro-wrong...wi-with me."

"THEN WHY THE HELL WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME? WHY WON'T YOU JUST DO WHAT I ASK YOU TO DO WITH YOUR DARK SIDE SARAH?"

His words came out loud and hurtful, but not cold. "Y-y-you-your w-w-way seems to dangerous!"

"TOO DANGEROUS? Moon shrieked. "TOO FREAKING DANGEROUS? DAMN IT SARAH! I AM TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!"

"B-b-but...y-y-you wanted h-her in control i-i-instead of me!" Sarah cried.

"BECAUSE YOU WERE SICK AND WEAK!" Moon shouted. "YOU THINK I'D JUST ASK YOU TO PUT DARK SARAH IN CONTROL? YOU THINK I WANT THAT EVIL BASTARD IN CONTROL OF YOU? DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT I WANTED HER TO BE A PART OF YOU?"

"N-n-no!" Sarah cried. "I-I-I just want to prove to you that I can handle her!"

"YOU CAN'T HANDLE HER SARAH! I CAN BARELY HANDLE MY OWN DARK SIDE! I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU! BUT YOU WON'T LISTEN AND THAT'S PISSING ME OFF!" At this point he had backed her into a wall of the dungeon. His usual caring blue eyes looked infuriated, cold, and heartless. Just like his darkside.

"M-M-Moon...y-y-your...s-sc-scaring me! P-p-Ple-please...s-stop!"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH DANGER I'VE BEEN TRYING TO KEEP YOU OUT OF?"

"I'M SORRY!" Sarah wailed. "MOON I'M SORRY! I'LL LISTEN TO YOU! PLEASE JUST STOP! I'M SORRY!" Moon had her up against the wall, his dead blue eyes pierced through her soul, his hands firmly holding her arms, basically squeezing them at this point. Sarah noticed that his hand was starting to emit multi-colored sparks.

"SORRY WON'T CUT IT SARAH!" He shouted at her. "I'M TRYING TO SAVE YOUR HAPPINESS! I'M TRYING TO SAVE WHAT PEOPLE KNOW YOU FOR! I'M TRYING TO PREVENT YOU FROM BECOMING A MONSTER! JUST LIKE ME!"

"YOU AREN'T A MONSTER!" Sarah screamed. "YOU'RE KIND! YOU'RE CARING! IT'S WHY I LOVE YOU! MOON LISTEN TO ME! YOU NEED TO STOP!" Her screams jolted Erick and Dyson out of their hypnosis. Both of whom immediately pulled him off of her.

"MOON STOP!" Erick shouted. "What has gotten into you? STOP! YOU NEED TO STOP!"

One of his eyes changed from blue to red. Then, Erick and Dyson saw what Sarah saw. The only part of his normal appearance remaining to all three of them was his right eye which remained sapphire blue. His hand flashed and multi-colored sparks shot out of his hand. Then his appearance started flickering, he went from his dark side appearance then to his normal appearance. He backed away from his friends. More sparks shot out his hands.

"Friend Moon? Are...are you okay?" The three of them took a step towards him and he backed away from them again.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted at them, his hand began to flash brighter. "PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU! RUN! GET AWAY FROM ME! ALL OF YOU!"

Sarah made a motion to move towards him. However, Dyson firmly grabbed her arm and held her in place.

"Friend Sarah...his powers are going to burst, you're going to get yourself hurt!"

"He needs me!" Sarah cried. "I can calm him down! I can stop this! Please let go of me!"

Dyson didn't let go of her. Sarah turned her face towards them. Tears flew down her cheeks rapidly.

"ERICK PLEASE!" she cried. "Tell him to let go of me! You've seen me stop his breakdowns in the past! I can stop this! Please! He's going to hurt himself!"

Erick shifted uncomfortably. "Sarah...Moon seems to know what's going on and so does Dyson, I think it'd be better if we listen to him." Sarah looked at him, horror on her face as tears flowed down it. Moon was holding his head at this point, his appearance still flickering.

"MOON PLEASE!" Sarah cried. "LISTEN TO ME! CALM DOWN!"

Moon stumbled for a bit, catching himself on the wall, then he slammed his head against it.

"MOON! STOP!" Sarah screamed, still trying to break free from Dyson's hold.

"NO!" He shouted, slamming his head against the rocky wall again. "I DESERVE THIS! I HURT YOU SARAH! I'M SORRY! I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!" He punched the wall with his hands, which were still sparking and flashing, while still slamming into it with his head. Each time he struck himself with the wall, Sarah's screams got louder and more hysterical.

"PLEASE LET GO OF ME DYSON!" Sarah screamed. "LOOK AT HIM! HE'S HURTING HIMSELF OVER ME! HE NEEDS ME! LET GO OF ME!"

Dyson looked heavily conflicted with himself. "Friend Sarah...Moon gave me an order, he wants all of us to leave him alone, I must make sure that we follow that order."

"HE IS LITERALLY BEATING HIMSELF UP WITH A ROCK WALL!" Sarah screamed. "THIS IS NOT GOOD FOR HIM! THIS ISN'T RIGHT! PLEASE LET GO OF ME!"

Moon slammed his face into the wall, a black essence now leaked from his nose, mouth, eye sockets, forehead, and his knuckles from where he had punched the walls. "I'M SORRY SARAH!" he screamed. "I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT YOU! SARAH! I'M SORRY!" He turned one of his now black essence bleeding hands towards him, the sparks and light began flashing and erupting more than ever before.

"MOON NO! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Sarah wailed. Her hand suddenly caught on fire startling Dyson, who let go of her. She moved over to Moon so quickly that neither of them had time to stop her. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into as tight of a hug as she could possibly manage. He made several attempts to force himself away from her, but, despite a clear split in their physical strength, he couldn't break free from her. Somehow, she was holding him in place, it was probably because she knew that if she let go, he'd do something that he'd regret for the rest of his life.

"SARAH LET GO OF ME! LISTEN TO ME! RUN! GET AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU ANYMORE THAN I ALREADY HAVE!"

"NO!" Sarah cried. "I'M NOT LEAVING YOU! NOT WHEN YOU ARE HURTING YOURSELF!"

"I DESERVE IT SARAH! I HURT YOU! I CORRUPTED YOU! IT'S MY FAULT THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN SO DESTROYED AND MESSED UP! I DESERVE THIS PAIN SARAH!"

Dyson made a movement to remove Sarah from her grasp around Moon. Only to be shot at by Erick. He quickly turned to Erick in fury.

"Friend Erick! What are you doing!" he snapped.

"I'm stopping you from separating them!" Erick fired back. "Sarah will put a stop to this."

"Friend Moon gave us an order. We must keep ourselves and Sarah away from him, his powers are going to explode!"

"MOON HAS GONE MAD YOU IDIOT!" Erick shouted. "Why would you take orders from someone who is literally beating themselves with a rock wall?"

Sarah felt more heated sparks come from Moon's hand, they seared her arm and scorched parts of her dress.

"STOP FIGHTING!" Sarah shouted. "YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE!"

"SARAH! PLEASE LET GO OF ME!" Moon screamed.

Sarah gripped him harder. She was ready to start shouting, then she bit down on her lip. Something in her told her to stop shouting, to just try and be comforting.

"Moon...please...calm down." She cried softly. "Moon...everything is okay! I'm here, please calm down."

"I HURT YOU SARAH! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" More sparks seared her arms and dress.

"It's okay Moon!" Sarah cried. "I still love you! You didn't mean to hurt me! Moon please calm down! Stop hurting yourself, I'm here for you, stop! Please...if you can hear me...hug me!"

Slowly and hesitantly, Moon moved his arms around her waist sparks still erupted off it, but Sarah kept biting down on the burning pain now on her. She knew that if she made anysort of cry out in pain, it'd get much worse for him.

Dyson and Erick noticed the sparks that were searing and scorching parts of her dress. Dyson made a movement towards Sarah again. Erick promptly shot him and then tackled him to the ground.

"Friend Erick, she is getting hersel-" Erick covered his mouth.

"What the heck is wrong with you." He hissed in a low voice. "Sarah is making progress with him and calming him down. He thinks he hurt her pretty badly, and she's trying to reassure him otherwise. If he were to learn that he's hurting her now, while she's trying to do it, he'll explode right then and there!" Dyson uncovered his mouth.

"And what exactly are we going to do when he does calm down and sees her like this?" he snapped back.

"You've got healing powers dipstick!"

"Oh, right, I completely forgot!"

"Why did I sign up for this? I'm surrounded by a bunch of idiots." Erick muttered to himself.

Sarah continued to hug Moon, while biting down any attempts to start crying out from the burning pain she was feeling from the sparks flying off his body. The sparks slowly started to fizzle out before eventually cracking and coming to a stop.

"Sarah...I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-"

"Ssshhhh!" Sarah shushed to silence him. "It's okay Moon, you didn't hurt me...you just scared me...Moon, listen to me...it's okay...I still love you...Moon, I love you...nothing will change that. Calm down, I'm here for you Moon."

Suddenly, she felt sparks sear her arms again, she wasn't prepared at all and cried out in pain.

"S-S-Sarah...I-I-I ne-ne-need...t-t-to let h-him ou-out! S-S-So do you! Y-y-you're hurting me!"

Sarah suddenly realized that her hand was flashing sparks and was still on fire.

"No...we...we can't let them out!" She cried.

"S-S-Sarah...Dark Sarah still has to get used to your body...it will get worse if you don't do anything. I-I-I've hurt myself too much to continue on. Please...for the better of your life. Listen to me, let her out...I'll tell Erick and Dyson."

"B-But Moon-"

"Sarah...look at me." She looked up at him. His eyes were still leaking out black ooze and she could still see tears flowing from his sparkling blue eyes. "You're getting too corrupt, I love you Sarah, and I would never ask you to let her out unless it was absolutely necessary for your safety. Please listen to me, I love you Sarah, and I want nothing more than for you to continue being happy, to not end up like me...so please Sarah...let her out."

Sarah gave a reluctant nod. "Okay Moon, I...understand...I'll let her out." Her eyes flashed red and her appearance altered into her full on dark side appearance. Her skin turned shadowy, her eyes became blood red, and her dress and ribbon switched to black. "Not one word." Moon hissed at her. Dark Sarah shrugged before nodding.

Moon turned to Erick, who was still holding Dyson down on the ground. "Erick, thanks for stopping him." he said quietly. "You can get off of him now."

Erick got off of Dyson and they both stood up. Upon seeing them Erick turned his laser at Sarah. Moon put his arm out in front of her.

"You guys can see that she's different correct?" Moon asked. Both boys nodded, "Okay, I guess the corruption blood she spat at you must've sunk into your system...don't panic, she needs to be out. Sarah is too tired and too exhausted to keep going. So she'll be with us for the time being.

"What about you?" Erick asked. "You are leaking that corrupt blood almost everywhere."

"He has a point." Dark Sarah hissed. "Maybe you should let my boyfriend out. You'll only be-"

"Zip it asshole." Moon hissed at her. Dark Sarah glared at him before falling quiet.

"Anyway, thanks for reminding me." Moon said. He dropped to the floor and opened his backpack and withdrew another glass bottle with the light blue liquid in it. He glugged it down and his skin went back to normal, his eyes, hat, and hoodie became blue, and the black ooze changed to blood. His hand flashed green and he stopped bleeding from his body.

"Let's get going. We'll explore this dungeon and hopefully find what we need."

He then turned to Dark Sarah. "As for you." he said.

"I know, I know," Dark Sarah muttered. "I've gotta stay near you."

The four continued their trek through the dungeon, they climbed up a few ropes and walked through the maze-like areas with relative ease. They finally reached the top where a man that Erick recognized was sitting.

"Mr. Brickroad?" Erick asked a the four approached him.

The man lit up at the sight of him. "Ah Mr. Erick." he said. "Glad to see you remember me, we met in Winters, I'm the best dungeon developer around! Your dad finally got around to helping me become Dungeon Man! This dungeon is now fully connected to my body, sort of like a cyborg robot! Anyway, what brings you here?"

"We uh, we need a way to cross the sea." Erick said. "You wouldn't happen to have anything we could use...do you?"

"Ah! Well, since you guys are my first clearers of my dungeon, I just so happen to have a submarine in my tech chamber rewards down below. Just follow the path and take the last hole to hop down there. You all can take it, and I'll move my dungeon close to the sea for you guys."

"Thank you. Mr. Brickroad." Dyson said.

The four walked towards the hole, Dark Sarah made a motion to eagerly jump down, before Moon stopped her.

"Yeah, I don't think so." he growled. "I'll go first. You know, to make sure you don't hurt yourself."

"You're a real dick sometimes, you know that?" Dark Sarah hissed.

"Takes one to know one." Moon shot back. "Make sure she comes down after me," he added looking at Erick and Dyson. "If she refuses, shove her down." he jumped down the hole. The second he did, Dark Sarah turned to face the two of them. She gave them an evil look, almost like she was challenging them to come closer to her.

"You wouldn't shove me down a hole now? Would you?" She asked innocently.

"That depends." Dyson said, stepping forwards to her. "Are you going to go down willingly?"

Erick stood in front of him. "Are you crazy." He snapped. "We aren't going to push Sarah down there. It's what she wants!"

"DON'T MAKE ME LEVITATE UP THERE AND FORCE YOU DOWN!" Moon's voice echoed through the hole.

Dark Sarah let out a hiss at that. "Your leader's boldness and quick temper certainly do turn me on. I'll admit, I think I like him just as much as I like my husband."

"That doesn't mean what you think it does." Erick said. "Also...husband?"

Dark Sarah giggled like a maniacal baby. "In due time." she sang coldly, twirling around. "Oh, how the world is going to change for you! Even if by some stupid fucking miracle you all do manage to beat Giygas, you'll return to a world of nothing! You'll lose everyone, and everything you care about. There is no happy ending for you four."

Erick and Dyson just stared at her in silence.

"Well, I'm gonna head out now, bye!" she then jumped down the hole. They heard and thud followed by Moon's voice.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

They both jumped down the hole. They landed in different spots and saw Dark Sarah on top of Moon, who was on the ground.

"Thanks for cushioning my fall, my love." Dark Sarah hissed getting off of him.

Moon stood up and brushed himself off. "Yeah, you're welcome." he grunted. The four walked through the garage of vehicles, there was a taxi, a bike, and an instant revitalizing device.

Erick looked over the submarine carefully. Then he opened the hatch and walked inside.

"Well I've got good news and bad news." the genius called.

"What's the good news, friend Erick?"

The genius walked back out of the submarine. "The good news is...the submarine still works just fine, and it has an autopilot...the bad news is well...we have no way of getting it out."

"Oh don't be too sure about that." Dark Sarah hissed, she gave Moon an evil look.

"Come on sweetie." she hissed. "I can't carry this thing with my telekinesis all by myself."

Moon let out a sigh, the submarine slowly started to float in the air. It was then directed outside of Dungeon Man and settled into the water. The four got inside, Erick set the coordinates towards Deep Darkness, and they sped off under the water leaving Scaraba behind.

The inside of the submarine was pretty spacious. Moon sat down, near the end with Dark Sarah. After a moment, her eyes became uneven and unfocused. Then they became their usual shade of sapphire blue. Her face and ribbon also returned to normal. Her lower body however, remained shadowy and black.

"Moon?" she asked nervously.

"It's alright Sarah." he responded calmly. He then handed her another bottle of the light blue liquid. "Just...drink this...please." She nodded and took the bottle from him, draining it in a few gulps before finishing. Then, she got up and sat down on his lap wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey just a heads up." Erick said. "It's about an hour or so to Deep Darkness, now would probably be a good time for you two to rest yourselves so your PSI energy is good.

"I could really use a nap." Moon said quietly. "How about you?"

Sarah nodded and the two fell asleep in each others arms.

* * *

**(Dark Sanctuary, Deep Darkness)**

"LAND HO!" Dyson shouted, jumping out of the submarine hatchet. He quickly took a look around and his face slowly fell.

"Ah shit! Come on really?" he asked, as Moon, Sarah, and Erick followed after him. They were in the middle of a swamp. The trees were packed tightly together, allowing them no way of getting through.

"Looks like we are walking through a swamp." Moon said. "Let's get walking then shall we?"

The four trudged through the muddy swamp water. It felt really bad, it seared their skin as they walked on.

"Odd." Erick said, rubbing his arms. "It seems like the water has some sort of toxic acid that is relatively harmless to human skin, but still stings a lot."

"Really?" Sarah asked. "I haven't felt anything."

Moon facepalmed. "It's not swamp water." he said. "If I can't feel it and neither can Sarah. But you guys can...then it must be some type of corrupt water."

Erick and Dyson both rubbed their arms. "Is this the type of pain the two of you go through?" Dyson asked. "I can't imagine how rough it is putting up with this every single day."

"Corruption and the pain inflicted on our dark sides are two different things." Moon said. He paused suddenly. They had resurfaced above in a shallower area. He could see ripples in the deeper water as they continued moving forward.

"Sarah...Dyson...use PK thunder and aim it at the water."

Sarah and the young prince nodded.

"Pk Thunder γ!" Sarah shouted.

"Pk Thunder Ω!" Dyson shouted.

Bolts of lightning struck the water causing an electrical discharge to blow through the area. A bunch of crocodiles and green and purple fish with spears suddenly resurfaced with dead looks in their eyes.

"Wow, nice thinking Moon." Erick said.

After a bit more trudging, they came across a dark barrier. Darkness overshadowed the land, it was impossible to see anything.

"Now would probably be a good time to figure out how to use the Hawk Eye!" Erick said.

Moon pulled the object out of his backpack. He walked into the darkness and instantly a bright light flashed and shone everywhere. Suddenly the way forward became clear as day. The object then crumbled and collapsed in his hand.

"Welp, so much for that." Sarah said.

Out of nowhere, a flower with a demonic face charged up the four of them. It spewed some pollen at them which the four quickly scattered to avoid.

"PK Fire Ω!" Sarah shouted.

A huge blast of fire erupted off her hand, the flames consumed the flower and it collapsed.

"Awesome!" Erick said.

They trudged onwards, stopping every now and again so Moon could use lifeup on Erick and Dyson. Eventually, they came across a helicopter crash, there were metal pieces and glass shards all over the place. The helicopter's blades were bent in several directions. The words Monotoli were painted on in big black letters.

"Well, I could fix it." Erick said. "But it looks like Pokey was smart enough to remove the engine. We might as well keep moving on."

Moon approached the wreckage slowly. He just wanted to see if Pokey was alive...not that he particularly cared about that. He was near the front when something caught his eye. Below one of the weirdly put wings of the helicopter there was something sparkling red. He bent down to the ground and brushed the dirt off of the object. When he saw what was below, he nearly had a heart attack.

It was a book, but not just any book. A black and red striped book. The same book that he had been seeing in his visions.

"The hell?" he asked. Suddenly he was flung into a void. There was a sudden voice speaking to him.

"_Moon, I have paused for a brief moment to talk to you!" _

"Who the hell are you?"

"_Well, you could technically say, I'm the Demonrift, the book you are currently holding. Do not be alarmed, just take me with you, later tonight, I shall tell you more." _

Moon blinked, he was back below the helicopter crash. The book was still in his hands.

"Very odd." he said to himself. He placed the book in his backpack before standing up and turning to the group, all of whom had been looking at something across the swamp.

"Oh for fucks sake! Not this bitch again." Sarah hissed.

A giant pile of bright red puke had inched its way across the swamp to greet them.

"Ha! Haha! Hahahahaha!" the puke piled chuckled. "So, we meet again, Moon, Sarah, Erick, and that must make you prince Dyson?"

None of them spoke, Sarah just glared at the puke pile.

"Did you forget about me? I'm the return of Belch! You defeated me before! But I have returned." he let out a burp. "Belch has also changed his name to Puke! Master Puke if you would! I'm going to drown you all to death in puke! Don't you think that's an incredibly masculine taunt for me to throw at you?"

"No not really." Moon said, rolling his eyes slightly. "But why is it that you're the only asshole we've fought that's made a return? We had a harder time against freaking Thunder and Storm than we did with you!"

"I do agree," Erick said. "You were...laughably weak compared to the other stuff Giygas has, I get that you're one of his best allies, but...still...why'd he choose to revive you?"

Belch's eyes flashed red. "Oh real rich." he hissed. "Well, you're gonna have a bad time against me now! Your leader is almost out of PSI." Then he upchucked a big ball of puke, the ball hit Sarah forcing her to the ground. She tried to get up, but the puke was too strong and sticky. She was stuck to the ground.

"PK Rollin γ!" Moon shouted. Sparks started to develop, but they fizzled out and he felt empty. "Well shit." he said to himself.

Belch chuckled. Then he split himself into eight smaller piles. The piles slugged around at quick paces, dodging lasers from Erick, and multiple freezes from Dyson.

"Pk Hydro!" Moon shouted. A blast of water shot from his hand knocking two puke piles away from Sarah. The two merged together, into a bigger puke pile and instantly shot a pile of barf at Erick.

"Shield Ω!" Dyson shouted. A wall of light sprung up in front of Erick. The barf hit the wall and then shot back at the pile, which quickly split in two to avoid the counterattack.

"He keeps splitting up to avoid our attacks." Erick said. "We need a way to hit multiple of them, Sarah's out of commission at the moment and Moon can't activate Rollin."

"PK Starstorm ⍺!" Dyson shouted. A bunch of blue meteors started to rain from the sky, the puke piles once again split up into even smaller piles avoiding the meteor strikes. Dyson had to fall to his knees after that.

"Friend Erick, I'm pretty much out as well." he said.

Belch reformed back together and shot a pile of puke at both of them. The shield shattered from the puke's immense force and caught both of them on the ground as well. The pile of puke then turned his attention to Moon.

"Well well well, what have we here." it burped. It upchucked a bit of puke at Moon. Quick thinking was in measure, he swiftly pulled out his bat and swung at the ball of puke. It made contact before getting flung back at Barf. However, the bat basically snapped in two.

"Fantastic." Moon muttered. The pile of puke inhaled its reflected puke before upchucking it back at Moon, the puke splattered over him and pinned him to the ground as well. The Barf pile inched over to Sarah.

"Well well well, Sarah," it hissed. "It seems like I'm going to finally get to pay you back for my defeat back at Saturn Valley. It moved itself over Moon and covered him in barf. "In about a minute or so, I will have suffocated him, so Sarah...now you can lose something as well."

Sarah could feel herself getting weaker as she struggled to break free from the sticky puke. Then she felt one last thing break in her head. Her hand began to flash bright blue.

"PK STARSTORM!" she shouted.

Several blue meteors strikes fell from the sky. They hit Barf and he was flung into the ground where he moved no more.

The pile of barf around Moon, Erick, and Dyson all became less sticky and they slowly lifted themselves off the ground. The second they did, Dyson instantly rounded on Sarah.

"HOW THE ACTUAL HELL DID YOU DO THAT?" He shouted.

"She used Pk Starstorm." Moon said. "I really don't see anything wrong with that...and seriously there was no need for you to shout so freaking loud."

The young prince took a deep breath to gather his senses. "Forgive me, friend Sarah." he said slowly. "I failed to mention to you that Pk Starstorm is a forbidden PSI move, it is a deadly attack that uses a lot of PSI energy, unlike most PSI powers, it was supposed to only be learned through an intense training, so that only those worthy could learn it. But you just...mustered up the attack...without any sort of training. It took me a year of training to master the move."

"So...is...Sarah in trouble...or something?" Erick asked.

"Well...by technicality, no. But, by the laws of logic that we in Dalaam have come to believe based on years of research...yes. It's an impossibility to learn PK Starstorm without training, those who are able to, are often times those considered to be evil, and unruly, once again referring back to the fact that you and friend Moon are rouge PSI users. I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to explain this to Master Yee-soo-chi and the rest of Dalaam as well."

"Listen." Moon said, rubbing his head. "It's been a rough day. Dungeon Man, our dark sides, that stupidly long submarine trip, and now this...I'm exhausted. There's a little cave up ahead, lets just rest for the night, then in the morning, we can continue towards the Lost Underworld.

As it turned out, they were indeed close to the Lost Underworld. They met up with a tribe of small, shy, green creatures. The entrance towards the Lost Underworld was sealed off, and according to the tribe leader, there was supposedly a book that could fix shyness. The chosen four had decided to just call it a night then head out and search for the book in the morning.

It was now late at night. Moon awoke in the little secondary cave that was functioning as their bedroom. Dyson, Sarah, and Erick were all sleeping peacefully. Quietly, he pulled the Demonrift out of his backpack and crept out into the little outlet that made up Deep Darkness. He opened the book and was met with a blank page. He waited for the book to start talking again, however, it didn't. Curiously, he took out a pen and wrote down.

_My name is Moon Wolfe_

Moon blinked, then he nearly gasped in shock, the written ink was dissolved in front of him, then words started to appear.

_I know that you are Moon Wolfe, but um, you're holding me upside down, and you're at the end of the book. No matter, it is better that I explain myself to you, after all, you are my new master._

Moon blinked, the text began to dissolve again. Remembering what the book said, he flipped it rightside up then wrote.

_I'm your master? What are you? What is your purpose? Who created you? _

The text dissolved into the book, suddenly the pages started to turn all on their own. They came to a rest at the front of the book which was written in a strange sort of handwriting.

_This book allows one to travel between the clusters of the universe and the multiverses of those clusters freely, all you have to do is think about the cluster and multiverse while holding onto the book. The master or successors are the only people allowed to write within this book, any outside written info will be deleted but the book will not forget. In addition you are specifically a chosen successor to Giygas._

Moon blinked in shock at the text.

_You were created by Giygas?_

The book suddenly flipped to the next page.

_Successors, The following information is about the previous masters of the Demonrift_

_Giygas (World Melody/Sanctuary): Creator of the Demonrift. Status: ?_

_Tabuu: Cluster Combiner & Giygas' personal scientist. Status: Unknown, presumed deceased_

_Pokey Minch (World Sanctuary): Only a successor upon Giygas final request. Status: Unknown_

_Current Master of the Demonrift, _

_Moon Wolfe: 4th successor, the "Son" of Giygas._

Then a text box appeared below it

_Don't be alarmed with this information Master Wolfe, I know you are technically a hero. My reasoning for choosing you as my new master comes on the fact that you are technically my former master's son. If you wish to use me for good, I have no objections. You are a hero, not a villain, I'm only doing what Master Giygas would've done. The clusters that you now have rule over are listed on the next page, I know that you won't understand this, but I know that you will with the help of these strange electronic games within your world. So I will provide some insight. Take some time to gather your information._

The page turned and Moon was met with a long list of weird scientific names

_Basidiomycota Cluster [Super Mario Bros, Wario Ware, Yoshi's Island, Donkey Kong Country, and Banjo-Kazooie]_

_Tribus Cluster [Legend of Zelda]_

_Locus Cluster [Metroid, F-Zero, & Star Fox]_

_A.o.N. (Anomaly of Nightmares) [Kirby]_

_Animalium Cluster [Pokemon]_

_Giegue Cluster [Mother/Earthbound] _

_R.D.U. (Retro Depression Universe) [Ice Climbers, Pac-Man, Duck Hunt, Wii Fit, & R.O.B] _

_Gladio Cluster [Fire Emblem]_

_The Shadow Realm [Game & Watch]_

_Imperium Centralis [Smash, Kid Icarus, & Bayonetta]_

_Bellum Arca-archa Cluster* [Metal Gear Solid]_

_Sativus Cluster [Pikmin]_

_Celeritas Cluster* [Sonic]_

_Mutatio Cluster* [Mega Man]_

_Oppidum Cluster [Animal Crossing]_

_Monado Cluster [Xenoblade Chronicles]_

_Sera-Punga Cluster* [Street Fighter & Fatal Fury]_

_Sonium Cluster* [Final Fantasy]_

_Calamari Cluster [Splatoon]_

_Tepes Cluster [Castlevania]_

_Clepto Cluster* [Persona]_

_Draco Cluster* [Dragon Quest]_

Moon shifted through the list with interest. Apparently, the clusters also had a subset of information that he could view, an idea suddenly came to him. His home cluster had to be Giegue, considering that was the only video game he figured he could be a part of. He flipped to the starting page of Giegue where there was a giant portrait four subset chapters were listed.

_6-1: World Melody_

_6-2: World Sanctuary_

_6-3: World Needle_

_6-4: Dark Sanctuary_

_6-5?: I have found no further records but it appears that there may be a fifth realm within this cluster, Moon Wolfe and Sarah Polestar have clear memories interacting with a group of people by the names of Sapphire Chaser, Willow Thorne Polestar, Anthony Andonuts, and Noct-Sans_

Moon shrugged, he flipped to Dark Sanctuary which was highlighted. There he was met with a picture of him, Sarah, Erick, Dyson, Giovanna, and Petra. All of them appeared to be in Saturn Valley as evidence by the Mr. Saturn in Sarah's arms. Below the picture was a fine print. One that made Moon start to question just how much this book knew.

_The 6 friends of Dark Sanctuary: Erick Andonuts, Giovanna Cox, Dyson Locke, Petra Locke, Moon Wolfe, and Sarah Wolfe (Polestar)._

Moon silently closed the book. He stared off into space, he wasn't sure what to think, if what the book said was real...he was going to ask Sarah to marry him...and she was going to say yes. He withdrew a small box from his hoodie pocket, in it, there was a ring with a small diamond embedded on top. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, the thought of marriage had seemed silly and stupid for him, but according to this book...it was their future. Shaking, he silently walked back into the hole, put the book away, a laid back down next to Sarah. According to a written documentary from either a different world Pokey, a different world Giygas, or Tabuu, he had a whole future to look forward to with Sarah.

He didn't want to believe the written records of whoever had written that, but after everything he'd been through on his adventure, the thought that Sarah would actually agree to stay with him forever, until the very end, was heartwarming, he felt a strange feeling inside of his heart. Perhaps, for the first time in his life, something was going to end positively for him.

* * *

**So, last up, the sword and Stonehenge, then, we are officially done with original content for Earthbound. Now, allow me to explain the Demonrift for a second. This fascinating book will play a bigger role when we role around to Smash, it will be brought up a bit in the future but we'll get there when we get there. I get that this chapter probably got you guys a bit off with my language this chapter, but I decided to spice up my usual taste, especially since Smash is coming up soon.**

**I did not come with the clusters and their groupings, my friend did, I have zero idea if these clusters are references to anything, I know a few of them are, but I don't know if they all are. Banjo is listed with Mario simply for the fact that he debuted in _Diddy Kong Racing_, and Diddy Kong has been in numerous spin offs in the Mario series. This is also, for anyone in the future, written prior to the finishing of Smash Brothers Ultimate's final roster, I do plan to include every single smash character in my sequel including the DLC fighters, I'm not going to postpone the series until they all are out, but I'll find a way to include them otherwise.**

**Also, one last thing, I wanted to pay tribute to PhoenixClaw's Bound By Our Hearts one last time with the casual one off mention of his characters in the Demonrift. Phoenix has been a long time follower of this series and I can't begin to thank him enough for that. With that being said, I have officially established his story as "Almost Cannon." to my story. Thanks for the support from this series, to all of my readers who have been with me since the beginning, it's crazy to think that I'm nearly at 2,000 views on my story. I really do appreciate all the support you all have given me from reading this story, and I hope that all of you plan to stick around for the sequel. I'll see you all in the next chapter.  
**


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: The Son of Giygas.**

The chosen four all awoke early the next morning in the Tenda village cave. They stretched and yawned as they rose and, after a quick breakfast of cereal, they walked outside.

"So we need to look for a book that helps people overcome shyness." Dyson said. "Where are we going to find a book like that?"

Moon shrugged. "I'd suppose maybe the library in Onett but-"

Suddenly, the receiver phone in his backpack began ringing again. Moon fished through his backpack before pulling it out.

"Hello! This is Apple Kid!"

"Oh hey Apple kid. What's up?"

"Oh not much," Apple Kid responded. "I finally arrived at Dr. Andonut's laboratory in Winters, he doesn't seem to be around at the moment, so I decided I'd take the time to work on my Eraser Eraser Machine, I definitely think that-"

"That...what?" No response. "Apple Kid?"

There was a loud bang, a high pitched scream followed by some maniacal laughter. Then the phone clicked off.

Moon turned to his friends with a pale face. "Something terrible has happened to Apple Kid." he said quickly. "Something at Winters just kidnapped him."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Erick said. "Let's get ourselves over to Winters and rescue him!"

Sarah, Erick, and Dyson all grabbed onto Moon, and in a flash of pink light, the chosen four vanished.

* * *

**(World Sanctuary, Polestar Preschool)**

Paula was putting the finishing touches on her things before she and everyone else was off to Dark Sanctuary. Poo and Jeff had returned to their respective homes to prepare themselves, so had Ness. She put in her Magic Fry Pan, and a few extra clothes. She was becoming more and more nervous as time went on, knowing that she was responsible for everything that had happened with this new world was very terrifying for her. She heard a few muffled shouts coming from outside. Curiously, she opened the window, outside, Ness was talking with Lucas, who had randomly just shown up. Lucas looked nervous, while Ness looked furious.

"SHE WHAT?" Ness shouted. "SHE CAN'T DO THAT!"

"Well, as it turns out, she actually can." Lucas said nervously.

"Damn it." Ness said furiously.

"Ness don't panic, you've still got time. Remember, everyone still has partake in a vote and it takes a lot of time for everyone to arrive."

Ness put his hands on Lucas' shoulders, "Lucas, I'm begging you. Please, stall and lie, we're going to fix this...do everything you can to stop them from rushing this decision!"

The blond nodded. "Ness, you know I don't want that outcome to happen either...but...I'm not the greatest liar, you know how I was raised."

Ness let out a sigh. "Just...please Lucas...don't let them do this."

"I'll...I'll do my best, Ness." The blond boy then darted through an orange portal.

Ness let out a long sigh, then he looked up and Saw Paula looking out the window. He gave a wave then walked into the house. A few moments later, he was upstairs in her room.

"What did Lucas say? What happened?" Paula asked.

"It...it's not important." Ness said. "Palutena...just...overruled our verdict earlier than usual...Lucas is off to Skyworld to deal with that."

Paula bowed her head. "N-N-Ness...wh-what's going to happen?"

Ness bit down on his lip. "Paula...nothing will happen to you...if we can just stop Moon and Sarah from losing...nothing will happen."

"But-" Ness silenced her with a quick kiss on her lips.

"Paula...whatever happens, I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Jeff and Poo arrived a couple moments later. "Are we ready to go?" Jeff asked. "We've got another world to save!"

Ness nodded. "Now...uh...one last thing...we're kind of doing this illegally...we aren't allowed to travel between worlds to mess around, only for political reasons. So...doing this is technically forbidden...but it's for the better."

"Ness? What exactly are we going to do to ensure their victory." Poo questioned.

Ness rubbed the back of his head. "I-I'm not sure." he said. "But we will do whatever it takes to prevent that outcome."

An orange portal opened behind Ness as he finished that sentence. Ness took a deep breath before saying. "When we arrive in Dark Sanctuary, we'll be in Sarah's bedroom...try to act like nothing is wrong...if we're mistaken for them, don't correct anyone. That way, we'll stay hidden longer. Do I have your agreement?" Paula, Jeff, and Poo nodded. "Alright, let's go!"

* * *

**(Dark Sanctuary, Winters)**

The chosen four appeared by the Winters boarding school. Erick quickly gathered his sense.

"Well crap," the genius said, "Looks like we teleported to the north of Winters, My father's lab is down south, we'll have to walk there."

Sarah had started shivering again. Moon took off his hoodie and handed it to her yet again.

"Friend Moon...what happened to your arms?" Dyson asked.

"I...uh...don't want to talk about it." Moon said. "Just a bunch of child accidents."

"Erick!"

The four turned and were greeted with a boy, he had flaming red hair, wore a school uniform like Erick, and had a fedora on his head.

"Oh...hey Tony...What's up?" Erick said.

"Not much...but...I think I know why you're here."

"Really?" Moon asked.

"Yeah, you're here because Giovanna never returned from Dr. Andonut's laboratory...right?"

"WHAT!" Erick shouted.

"Yeah...someone from the school went up to visit your father about a week or two ago to get her after she didn't return, they figured your father had forgotten the date again, when they got there, he told them that he had already sent her back two days before."

Erick had gone very pale from hearing this. "How...how do you know this?"

"Listen...I just saw you here, and thought I'd let you know just in case you didn't. Apparently there's been some creepy kid wandering around, they aren't letting anyone out of school grounds, Maxwell is stalling for me...I need to go...I'll be praying for your success on your adventure. Also, Moon, Sarah...and um...whoever you are...good luck." The boy ran back inside the gated area.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Moon hissed. "Apple Kid and Giovanna mysteriously disappear, your father might be gone as well...and there's a creepy kid wandering around...this doesn't sound like an accident. This sounds like the work of Giygas...and...Pokey."

"SHE COULD BE DEAD!" Erick shouted at him. "SHE COULD BE DEAD BECAUSE OF THIS STUPID ADVENTURE!" Moon felt his stomach turn. Shadowy light had started to appear on Erick's arm.

"Erick...calm down...Giovanna is fine." Sarah said.

"YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN?" Erick shouted. The shadow color started to spread. Moon bit down on his lip...he knew what had to be done. Erick was usually calm in most situations, even when there was imminent danger amongst everyone. This wasn't him losing it, it was the work of corruption...trying to find its way to a host.

Moon stepped up to him, then, grabbed his arm. He waited for a brief moment, feeling something cold re-enter his bloodstream, he shivered, and when he felt the coldness stop, he let go. Erick blinked, then shook his head. He stopped shouting and simply backed away. Moon fished through his backpack and handed Erick the light blue liquid that he usually kept for him and Sarah.

"Drink it...now!" he said forcefully. Erick hesitantly took the bottle and glugged it down.

"What the hell did you just do friend Moon?" Dyson questioned.

Moon turned to Dyson. His eyes looked pretty dead, then he grabbed Dyson's arm as well. Once again he held it in a cold silence...after a moment he let go. Dyson blinked and shook his head as well, Moon handed him a bottle as well.

"Drink it, and say nothing, I do not wish to speak about what just happened to any of you." Moon said with an angry tone. "That includes you Sarah. Let's get going."

The four walked down the path of Winters, hopping over ledges to get down quicker.

Danger!

Several aliens that had an eerie resemblance to the department store spook jumped out of the trees. Sparks instantly started to fly off Moon's hand. Seeing the same being that had taken Sarah from him was infuriating, the mere memory of Fourside was enough to make him mad.

"PK Rollin γ!"

Multi colored beams of light struck the aliens to the ground, vaporizing them immediately. The four continued down the hill before approaching the lake that crossed the water. Out on a peninsula was a pink monkey. Erick approached it eagerly.

"Hey Bubble."

The monkey turned to face them. "Oh, hey kiddo." Bubble responded. "You four need a ride across the lake...no problem...I've got some chewing gum." The monkey blew a bubble, rose into the air above the water, and waited for a moment. A giant purple serpent rose from the water with a big smiling face.

"Hop on you guys. Tessie will take ya'll across the lake."

The chosen four got on the back of the serpent and rode across the lake.

"So this is how you got here the first time?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Erick said. "Hard to believe that was nearly two months ago."

Moon remained relatively quiet throughout the majority of the Tessie ride and even the trip through the cave to Dr. Andonuts laboratory. The whole time he was in conversation with Dark Moon.

"That was way to close." he said to himself. "If I had let that corruption stay in their system, and not thoroughly cleared it out of them...we could've been in trouble."

"_Not like it would've done very much for us."_ Dark Moon hissed. "_I'd rather not have another smartass on my tailend, you're bad enough as it is."_

"Whose fault is it that I became this way?" Moon asked. "Also, don't mind me asking, why exactly would a Dark Erick and Dark Dyson not be of use to you?"

"_I don't have to answer that question, but since you're curious. A Dark Erick would be a vulnerable host, without PSI powers he's basically a walking dead man. As for Dyson, what's really the point? As a prince, he's required to think for the greater good of his people, I wouldn't be allowed to bring harm to any of them. Who knows though, maybe when Giygas does beat you and Sarah he'll put them under corruption for a true army of revenge, but why bother? All he needs are you and Sarah for his plan to be successful!" _

"What about your little book, the Demonrift?"

"_Huh? Que? The Demonrift? Heh, oh that little book was originally my diary, I gave it to Tabuu for him to continue his research. He tweaked some divine intervention into it to make it a very helpful object...thanks to it, I was able to build a multiversal army. With that army's help Tabuu nearly defeated the Super Smash Brothers and I would've made a triumphant return...If it hadn't been for King Dedede, Luigi, and Ness. He would've won."_

Moon shrugged, "Sound like Ness seems to get in your way more often than not, aren't you worried that has his counterpart I'm just going to do the same?"

"_Really? You are so different compared to Ness...You've got Hydrokinesis, Geokinesis, Internal Healing, and Levitation. You and Sarah are my greatest creations, you're my children, my personal successors, my weapons. To think the only reason I even got you was because Paula made a foolish wish. Your miserable existence was caused by someone else."_

Moon shook his head. He found himself back at Rainy Circle with Sarah, Erick, and Dyson all looking at him.

"Are...are you okay Moon?" Sarah asked with a worried tone. "You've been awfully quiet...is...is something wrong?"

"Yeah...Yeah I'm fine." Corruption had spread massively on him and Sarah. But he had used up the last of the cleanser on Erick and Dyson to fully remove corruption from their bodies. Erick and Dyson could no longer see their corruption having been cleansed and Sarah's corruption sight still was faulty, so if there was one good thing, at least he wasn't being pampered with questions.

The four walked out of the cave and into the center of Stonehenge, there was a small manhole in the center. Moon took notice of it and lifted it up there was a ladder below it. He looked up to his friends.

"All three of you stay here, I'll call you down if its safe." They all nodded in agreement. Moon slowly climbed down the ladder and touched the surface of the ground. The second he did, something red sparkled through his eye. He looked down at the ground and what he saw horrified him, on the ground of the cave were two items, one was a machine that looked similar to the pencil eraser, the other, was a familiar ruby crested tiara.

"Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me." He growled. He quickly picked up the tiara and placed it in his backpack, then he turned to the other object and picked it up.

"_Moon."_

A sudden hushed voice called his name. It was sort of cold, but it wasn't his darkside. Then the image of a sapphire bladed sword with an emerald hilt flashed through his brain again. He regained his senses as he waited. Then he called up to his friends. The three joined him a moment later.

"What took you so long to call us?" Erick asked.

"Um...I found this thing...I'm guessing it's Apple kid's eraser eraser."

For whatever reason, a strange glowing purple moss made up the sides of a pathway that lead them down a cave. After a bit of walking, they came upon an iron shaped eraser statue. Moon used the eraser eraser and a beam disintegrated the iron statue to nothing.

"_Moon."_

Moon ignored the weird hushed voice in his head. The four continued through the underground cavern. Taking all sorts of zigzag paths and patterns. After a long time of walking around aimlessly, they came to an opening, walking through it, they were now in a bright glowing lab. Weird multi colored buttons were beeping and flashing on the steel walls with small holes around.

"It's a whole secret alien laboratory!" Erick said in wonder. "Look at this place...it's massive!"

Danger!

Out of nowhere, an alien in a golden suit teleported in front of them. It was accompanied by two aliens that looked similar to it, only they were more of a silver color.

"So...these are the legendary heroes." the golden one beeped. "You may not go any further...we have some of your friends and family...keep going forward and we'll be forced to execute them, one by one."

"Pk Fire Ω!" Sarah shouted.

A blast of fire erupted off her hands. It consumed the silver starmen but a shield popped up for the golden one, reflecting the fire back at her. The flames hit her hard and pushed her back into the wall.

"Pk Rollin γ!" Moon shouted

"Pk Freeze γ!" Dyson shouted

Both attacks struck the Starmens shield. The multi-colored beams of light were reflected back at Moon, while the beam of ice hit the golden Starman, encasing it in ice. The ice slowly cracked and then shattered and the Starmen beeped.

"Help!"

Suddenly, a large mob of golden dressed Starmen appeared around them. The chosen four backed up together.

"Friend Erick? Do you have anything that might be of use to us?"

The genius shuffled. "If you can give me an opening, I could be able to fire off that bazooka I found, probably could take down a lot of these aliens.

"They're called Starmen," Moon said. "They're a major part of Giygas' force, Buzz Buzz told me about that."

"_M-O-O-N!" _The sapphire bladed sword flashed through his head again.

"Alright...that last one had a PSI shield...something tells me the rest of them have one too." Sarah whispered.

Erick pulled out the machine from the monkey caves. "This neutralizer should be able to fix that." He pulled the trigger of the object and a pale green light flowed over all the starmen, they saw bright walls of light shatter amongst the group.

"Perfect let's get them!"

"Pk Beam γ!" out of nowhere, several orange beams of light shot out at the four heroes. Sarah quickly casted a sigma PSI shield making the beams vanish. Moon, Sarah, and Dyson kept themselves in front of Erick, who was frantically trying to set up the bazooka. The three of them launched several beams of light and ice, fire, water, rocks, and thunder. Wave after wave of Starmen kept falling from the onslaught of attacks, but even more just kept appearing.

"Alright ready...give me an opening." Erick said. Moon quickly hopped out of the way. The genius put the bazooka on his shoulder, targeted a large area of huddle together Starmen, and fired. A huge gray bomb shot out of the bazooka and landed in the center of the pile.

KA-BOOM!

A massive explosion blew chunks of Starmen all over the room they were now in. The wave of Starmen suddenly stopped. There was not a single one in sight. The only thing left in the destroyed area where they once stood, was a present box, it's red ribbon bow tied around it. The four approached it curiously and opened it. Inside, a silver bladed sword with a golden hilt laid. Dyson reached down and picked it out of the box.

"If I'm not mistaken." he said, carefully observing the sword. "This must be the Sword of Kings. The signature weapon of a king in Dalaam. We lost the sword when my father died against an alien invasion of my home country several years ago...I can't believe it ended up here!"

Moon noticed something a little strange. One ended area showed a ladder going down. But the force of the explosion had unveiled a small dark hollow behind to one of the steel walls. He could sense a ton of Dark Energy emitting from the area. Cautiously, he approached the wall.

"Moon? What are you doing?" Sarah asked.

Moon silently approached the wall, and tapped on it with his fingers.

"_Moon."_

The same sword flashed through his mind again. He backed away from the wall, his hand flashed brightly then he shouted.

"PK Rollin γ!" A huge explosion of light went off near the wall vaporizing it to nothing. What was left was a giant, previously sealed off laboratory. Weird computers and other machines littered the area inside.

"Friend Moon...how did you know that was there?" Dyson asked.

"I could sense some Dark Energy...plus the explosion unveiled a small opening behind the wall. Let's look around...if it was sealed off...there was probably a reason for it."

The four entered into the laboratory, surprisingly, it was very small. Despite the amount of technology, it seemed smaller in size compared to what they had been seeing in Stonehenge.

"Very odd." Erick said, "It seems like this place hasn't been touched in quite some time. I wonder if anything still works."

Sarah had been keeping close to Moon, "Moon...you've been very quiet recently." she said with a hint of worry. "Is something wrong?"

Moon turned to face her. She drew in a breath, his eyes looked dead and cold...but he was still in his normal appearance. It was a little nerve racking for her. "Um...Sarah." he said quietly. "It's not just Giovanna, Apple Kid and Dr. Andonuts...they have Petra as well...I found her tiara near the beginning. Please just don't say anything...I don't need Erick and Dyson panicking."

She gave a slow nod. He then turned away from her and continued looking through the laboratory.

"_Moon...Moon!" _

He saw it. Right in front of his eyes, there it was. A sword similar to Dyson's Sword of Kings. Only, this one was a shade of sapphire blue on its blade and emerald green on its hilt. He approached it slowly. Then he saw a written record on the ground, it was in a similar handwriting to that of the author of the Demonrift.

_Log entry: Saphria, Sword of Darkness._

_Our research had been going greatly, such power in the hands of a sword. We shall call her Saphria, a sword of great power, the sword of darkness. Unfortunately, it's too powerful, my little human chimera can't even use it...how infuriating! I have no use for such a powerful sword, and it's not like anyone else can use it. Very fortunate to the fact that only one with a heart of pure darkness can wield this sword. Very ignorant of me to make it indestructible...but no matter. _

The rest of the paper had been torn off, leaving a curious ending for Moon. He looked up at sword. It was just laying in its case, waiting for someone to come along and try and claim it. He used Pk Earth to summon a small rock, then chucked it at the case. The glass broke with a giant smash startling Sarah, Erick, and Dyson who all came over to him. Erick quickly looked at the sheet of paper on the ground.

"Saphria...Sword of Darkness." he read. "Moon...you aren't actually going to?"

Moon stepped up to the glass case and picked up the sword. The blade suddenly began to glow, almost like it was reacting to his touch. Then, the light settled down, the sword stopped glowing and shining. Moon let out a sigh, considering his bat had been destroyed, and after getting several visions about Saphria, it would make a good replacement. Sarah, Erick, and Dyson were all staring wide eyed at him.

"Um, Friend Moon...according to this, Saphria can only be wielded by someone with a heart of pure darkness...and you are holding that sword...I think you can see what I'm getting at correct?"

Erick shrugged. "It could just be some stupid myth, you know, just to make sure that no one would ever use it." he said.

"Friend Moon...could I maybe...hold the sword?"

Moon handed the sword to him. Nothing happened for a good five seconds, then all of a sudden, Dyson let out a shriek and dropped the sword to the ground. It fell to the floor with a loud klang and he backed away holding his head.

"What the absolute hell just happened?" Sarah asked.

"I took the sword...then, a big stinging pain shot through my body...it was so sudden and so painful."

"I didn't feel a thing."

"Okay...so that checks out then." Erick said "The sword's weird mechanic is real...which means." his head turned towards Moon. "I'm guessing that this is something to do with your darkside?"

Moon shrugged. "Probably...let's move on though, we've got bigger things to worry about." The chosen leader took the sword and headed towards the ladder, as he passed by his friends they all noticed something strange...the sword's blade, which had been sapphire blue, had suddenly turned into a shining black color.

"Very odd." Dyson said. "The sword just changed its color."

Sarah bit down on her lip, something in her told her that this had something to do with Dark Moon, but she couldn't be positive with her assumption, she'd just have to wait and see.

The chosen four had swept through the Stonehenge base with ease. The Starmen were no match for Erick's quick movements with the Counter PSI Unit, with a barrage of PSI attacks followed by it. They approached a door towards the end of base. Erick attempted to open the door, however, it wouldn't budge.

"Stand back." Moon said in a rather dead voice. His voice had slowly changed over time, it became more distant and cold. Saphria was now dripping a black ooze from the amount of Starmen Moon had slashed with it. His hand lit up, only it was more of a silver color than multi-colors."

"PK Rollin γ!" a blast of silver light and energy blew the door off its hinges where it was flung across the room.

The inside of the room was a relatively small base however, all of the Chosen four let out a gasp. Inside of several tubes of a strange green liquid, were people, and a Mr. Saturn, that they all knew. Dr. Andonuts, Apple Kid, Giovanna, and…

"PETRA!" Dyson shouted, running up to her tube. "We need to break them out of here."

"Or...we could just...press this button." Erick said, pointing at a release button. Sarah pressed the button and the tubes opened sending out its containments. Erick quickly felt around for a pulse on Giovanna.

"Well, they are okay." he said. "Suffice to say, I think they were just unconscious."

"Moon?"

"Huh? Friend Sarah, is something wrong?"

"Yeah...where did Moon go?"

Both boys looked around. Their leader was nowhere to be seen, he had left them in the room.

* * *

Moon walked into an open area, a secret door hidden in the tube room had alerted him to its presence, in the middle of the room, on perched up stand, was a taller Starman alien. This one was colored in what looked like Platinum. The alien turned to face him, then it teleported in front of him.

"Ah, I see you've finally arrived." it beeped. "Moon Wolfe, Son of Giygas, Elite weapon 01...My master's most favorite creation."

Moon blinked, so apparently this specific starman knew the deeper meaning about him, which was probably why it hadn't attacked him on sight.

"Master Giygas did inform me that you weren't much of a talker in your human form...but I guess that makes sense...you did stop crying after I corrupted you and Sarah with his soul. He was most pleased with me, which is how I got promoted to Stonehenge operator, I've also become on his favorite minions!"

"You corrupted me and Sarah...you're the reason we're like this?" Moon snapped.

The starman beeped a bit. "Well...too be fair...I was tasked with killing both of you...after all, you were helpless babies at the time. Unfortunately, finding a doctor who didn't have a morale to kill a baby was a bit of a challenge. Master eventually decided to give it up and just place his soul in you. We also attempted to kidnap both of you...raise you two to be fierce fighters. Tabuu advised him otherwise."

Moon drew out Saphria and braced himself for an attack. However, the Starman Deluxe just stood there.

"I see you have found Saphria, she suits you perfectly, The Sword of Darkness for the Son of Giygas, you just can't write this stuff!"

"Are you going to fight me...or just stand here and talk?"

The Starman didn't speak, instead it just let out a few beeps, then. "You sure are fair despite being the Son of Giygas, you aren't attacking unless otherwise attacked, it seems that, despite the massive amount of corruption that has spread through you...you still keep your standards."

"I shouldn't be keeping my standards." Moon hissed at it, Saphria's blade suddenly began to glow. "You hurt my friend's friends, and you've hindered me in every way, shape, and form."

"And what exactly do you intend to do about that...Master Wolfe? You cannot defeat me on your own. Master Giygas has told me, this is where the adventure ends for you and your friends."

Saphria suddenly began glowing a lot, the Starman beeped again. "It seems Saphria has taken a liking to you, Master Wolfe. I did create it for our original human chimera...I think the project file data was something like...a masked man from World Needle, however, apparently, chimera don't have hearts...so it couldn't wield such a powerful object."

"What makes Saphria so special?" Moon asked.

"I'm very glad you asked, Master Wolfe. Weapon entry, 012, Saphria, Sword of Darkness. A beautiful blade of sapphires and a magnificent hilt of emeralds, it makes for a weapon unlike any other, some of Master Giygas' corruption has turned the sword into a deadly weapon of mass destruction. The sword, when a hit is landed, invokes a special type of corruption, it is a temporary corruption that cannot make a corrupt host, but it invokes pain similar to that of your dark side."

"Why are you acting nice...why aren't you attacking me?"

"Well, Master Giygas has spoken quite fondly of you...he wants me to tutor you. So, Master Wolfe, Let us begin our training."

Danger!

A large amount of Starman Supers teleported into the room. They instantly launched a large amount of Pk Beams at Moon, who used Pk Earth to shield himself from the orange lasers that launched off the black visor face that made up the Starmen. The rocky walls lowered and he launched off a vortex of water using his hydrokinesis, the whirlpool consumed several starman into it swirling them around at fast speeds having them smash into each other.

A few Starman launched Pk Freezes, Moon used his teleportation to move out of the way. He teleported behind a row of five starman and quickly slashed Saphria through their bodies, a black essense ooze leaked from there now cut bodies as they were cleanly sliced in half. Moon felt several large beams hit from behind throwing him across the room. He slammed into the steel walls of the lab with a loud bang.

The Starman Deluxe simply watched the fight continue as Moon got up and launched a gamma level Rollin at the Hundreds of Supers that littered the area. Several knight statues then formed being made of a bright ruby red, they slashed and cut numerous more Starmen in his path, even taking hits from launched Pk Beams and Freezes.

Moon leaped up to avoid five beams that launched at him from different directions his levitation put him the air, the collisions of the five beams resulted in an explosion that threw him higher in the air. More Starman teleported into the air, apparently they had levitation themselves. Moon quickly drew Saphria out again and spun in the air, he caught Starmen in the air and cut them several times, slashing through them. Then he suddenly fell to the cold, metal, ground. He struggled to force himself up. He used Lifeup to quickly heal himself, and the energy refreshed him to the point where he could at least stand up again. The Starman Deluxe let out a high pitched beep.

"Most impressive, that was about 100 Starman supers, and you defeated all of them...without even using your fullest power that resides within you...I should probably fix that problem, you aren't motivated, there is nothing on the line for you...that is what is holding you back."

Moon was breathing quite heavily, his frustration with the Starmen Deluxe was peaking and his powers felt ridiculously lowered. Saphria's black blade was glowing brightly, his head was stinging and throbbing, corruption was spreading through him quickly. The Starman Deluxe teleported out of the room in a flash of pink light. Then he reappeared with a knocked out Sarah behind him. She got up, only for her to be immobilized by some force.

"Master Wolfe, now you must fight for something else, her life, and your friend's lives, are now in your hands dependent on whether or not you can beat me in a fight." the Starmen Deluxe beeped.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Moon roared. A sudden burst of energy shot through the area, his hand started emitting silver sparks,the Starman Deluxe stumbled backwards at the burst of energy. Quickly it made a few beeps,

"Error! Error! Subject 01 has gone unstable!" it beeped quickly. "All units! Yes! All Starman Units! To Base sector area 03! Requesting backup! Repeat! Son of Giygas is unstable!"

Hundreds of Starman Supers teleported into the room. Completely unaware that Petra, Erick, and Dyson had arrived, without even thinking, Moon broke. Several Pk Beams were fired at him. Moon quickly teleported out of the line of fire. He reappeared in behind of huge wall of Starmen and launched off Pk Earth, instead of knight statues being summoned, sharp, jagged, blades of rock that had originally been below the steel floor sprung up piercing through the center of several Starman Supers. He then turned and slashed through several more with Saphria, cutting off the heads of some, and slashing through the bodies of others.

"MOON STOP!" Sarah shouted. Her shouts earned her a hard strike from the arm of the Starman Deluxe making her cry out in pain.

"Hush Daughter of Giygas," it beeped. "Let your boyfriend do his thing."

Hearing her cries only increased his rage, He launched off Pk Hydro, instead of water vortex, a jet stream of water extended from his hand forming a massive hand of water. It grabbed several Starman supers and slammed them down against the floor, crushing all of them into the cold hard steel floor.

The Starman Deluxe turned its head towards a still crying Sarah. "Interesting." It beeped. "His powers have tripled in strength...I wonder if maybe." It wrapped one of its arms around her and instantly a shock of electricity shot through her body. Sarah screamed in pain.

Her screams echoed through the room. The silver sparks on Moon's hand started to turn multi-colored, they also started to erupt more and flash brighter than ever before. Several PK Beams then struck Moon forcing him across the room into the wall. Sarah's continuous shrieks of pain still echoing through his ears. A lock broke within him, but this lock felt different, it felt like he wasn't supposed to have had this.

"PK ROLLIN Ω!"

A massive explosion of light and energy blasted through the area, it hit everyone except Sarah and the Starman Super, the energy blast blew Erick, Dyson, and Petra into the wall and vaporized the remaining Starmen Supers. Moon stood in the middle of a destroyed room, his eyes cold and heartless, but still there usual shade of sapphire blue.

"Most impressive Master Wolfe," The Starman Deluxe beeped. It appears tha-"

The Starman deluxe was forced over Moon who leered it down. Then, it was slammed against the ceiling and the floor several times. There were small cracks in its visor by the time it was slammed into the floor and left there. Moon then glared at it, Something inside of Sarah told her to cover her eyes, she did, she felt a rush of weird energy flow through her body. When she opened her eyes, she let out a gasp. Just like with the Trillionage Sprout back at Milky Well, the Starman Super started to become encased in diamond. Moon sliced through the diamond statue using Saphria, then he did it again...and again...and again...and again. He kept splitting it into smaller pieces.

Sarah jumped up and ran over to him, she grabbed onto his arm. His hand was still sparking and flashing brightly. His sapphire blue eyes were cold and heartless. "Moon stop!" she cried.

Moon didn't blink and he didn't shake his head. Instead, he pushed her off of him and continued slashing at the diamond statue.

"MOON STOP PLEASE, IT'S OVER! HE'S GONE! STOP!" Sarah cried.

"_He can't hear you sweetheart...he's been blinded by his rage...consumed by darkness, he's let himself get too corrupt! You can't stop him! This is his corrupt monster form." _

Erick, Dyson, and Petra had gotten back up, Erick and Dyson made a movement towards Moon, who turned around and pointed his hand at them. Sparks emitted faster and light flashed brighter.

"NO!" Sarah cried. She tackled him to the ground as he launched another PSI Rollin at them, she knocked him off his footing and the attack missed by mere inches. It shot into the wall near Petra and an explosion went off it had blasted and vaporized the wall, revealing the remaining confinements of the green tubes all of whom were watching in shock.

Sarah looked up at Erick and Dyson, she could feel the sparks getting worse as she held Moon down.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" She shouted. "You're making him worse! He doesn't understand that you're his friends! He still thinks you're the enemy! JUST BACK AWAY!"

Erick nodded and backed away, Dyson stayed put. Sarah shot him a look of fury, the young prince gave a reluctant nod before moving back with Erick.

Sarah looked back down at Moon, tears streamed down her cheeks as she held him, partly from the pain her head was in, and the rest was just out of horror. Moon struggled like a caged animal as she held him down. His sapphire blue eyes were full of fury and hatred. She fell onto his chest crying, she could feel a cold and slow heartbeat.

"Moon! This isn't you!" She cried. "Please! Stop! It's over! You're scaring me! You're scaring everyone else! PLEASE STOP!"

Moon looked at her, the fury in his blue eyes was evident. For a moment, the world paused, it was just the two of them looking at each other. Then Sarah heard a really weak voice.

"Knock...me...out...Sarah! Whack me with your frying pan, Please!"

She looked down, through her blurry vision from tears she could see his face. "Sarah! Knock me out!" he said in a weak voice. "Just knock me out!"

Sarah slowly reached for her frying pan, which was on the floor next to her, she raised it over her head, and with all her strength, swung it at his head.

* * *

**(Dark Sanctuary, Twoson)**

Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo all exited into an exact replica of Paula's bedroom, the most notable difference however, was that there was more purple instead of pink littered about the room.

"Huh, well...not too big of a surprise there." Jeff said, looking around. "Although...I was expecting something...weird."

"I agree." Poo said. "With our track record I was expecting something a bit worse."

"Um...G-g-guys." Paula said with a worried tone.

"Hmm?" Ness said. "What is it Paul-WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL?!"

Apart from the obvious problem that there was a giant gaping hole in the middle of Sarah's bedroom. What was outside was way worse, the whole town was in ruins, buildings were on fire, roads were damaged, and there were even dead bodies on the ground. The whole town of Twoson looked like a post-apothical world.

"What the hell happened?" Poo asked in shock.

A sudden gust of wind blew a random newspaper into the house where the four were standing. Jeff curiously picked it up and read through it.

"Oh dear." he said as his eyes scanned through it. "It's not just Twoson...Threed and Fourside have also been completely annihilated.

"By what?" Ness asked. "Giygas never went this far with us! How did this happen?"

"Take a good guess Ness, my dear old friend." A fifth voice said evilly.

"OH COME ON!" Paula shouted. The four turned and were met with a face they knew all too well. Pokey Minch stood behind them." All of them braced themselves for a fight.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Pokey snarled. "You attack me, and I'll have to blow this place up, that won't kill the four of you...but it will kill Sarah's family...and preschoolers as well."

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!" Paula shouted.

"On the contrarier Paula." Pokey snarled. "I have no problems murdering all of these people, hell, I already destroyed Dalaam, and the three other cities!"

"This is our world's Pokey...I thought you were trapped!" Poo asked.

"Not quite Prince Poop!" Pokey snarled. "After I was so rudely defeated by Lucas and wound up trapped inside the absolutely safe capsule, the Dark Dragon reset Lucas' world, freeing me from my eternal prison and even reverting me back to my youth. It was then that Tabuu called upon me for the subspace army. Even though I was defeated, I was still able to pick up the remains of Tabuu's fall. I then fled, hopping between the clusters of the multiverse, laying low. At least until I was given an opportunity."

"Why are you here?" Ness asked. "You have no business being in this world!"

Pokey chuckled. "True...but there is something about this world that peaks my interest...I was given a duty, by a higher authority! To shred this world to the ground! To prevent anyone from crossing over into this realm!"

"We won't let you do that!" Ness snapped. "This world is Paula's creation, therefore, it's up to her to determine how we handle this world!"

Pokey laughed like a maniac at that comment. "Oh...you think that this is PAULA'S creation?" he howled. "You all are fucking idiots if you think that this is PAULA'S creation!"

Paula made a motion to move towards Pokey. However, Ness, Jeff, and Poo all grabbed onto her.

"YOU LITTLE PIECE OF CRAP!" Paula roared. "This is my creation! This is my fault! I'm trying to fix a mistake I made! I'm not going to let you destroy an already destroyed world!"

"Well then, you'll just have to try and stop me!" Pokey snarled. "But I'm going to fulfill my duty! I'm backed by a higher authority! I will destroy this world, turn it into nothingness!" he then pressed a button and the chosen four heard an explosion downstairs. Pokey let out an evil laugh then vanished in a flash of pink light.

The chosen four had gone very pale from the sound of the explosion. They quickly ran downstairs, Sarah's mother, father, and the preschoolers were all on the ground fighting to hold onto what little life was left in them. Ness and Poo quickly tried to use Lifeup to heal them, however, they weren't healed.

"No...but...that means that...our PSI has been blocked!" Poo said in shock. "How did Pokey learn about that?"

"Wait...that means that...we can't heal them?" Jeff asked.

Mr. Polestar turned over, he looked a bit confused upon seeing the four of them. He then heaved himself over to Ness and grabbed onto his arm.

"Moon." he coughed weakly. "Pl-Please...t-take c-care of S-Sarah...for us." The man's eyes closed and he moved no more.

The original chosen four stood there, paralyzed in shock and horror. Poo was the first to recover.

"Pokey just took away Sarah's family...we never returned to Twoson until the end of our adventure, he's taken away Dyson's country since we never return to Dalaam, which means by logic, that he's going after the Winters boarding school and then the few who don't go to Saturn Valley from Stonehenge's base. But...we have no way of knowing which way he'll go first."

Paula bit down. "We need to save the kidnapped Stonehenge victims." she said.

All three boys looked at her. "Why exactly?" Ness asked.

"Because...they have Dyson's wife Petra and Erick's girlfriend Giovanna, Pokey is obviously targeting those they care about the most...so making sure they go to Saturn Valley is priority number one!"

"Agreed...but...what do we do if we run into ourselves?" Poo asked.

"We shouldn't." Jeff said, glancing at a clock that, somehow, hadn't been destroyed. "If memory serves it was about this time that we exited Stonehenge after defeated that Deluxe Starman...we should be fine."

"Alright then." Ness said. "It's off to Stonehenge we go!"

* * *

**(Dark Sanctuary, Dr. Andonuts' Lab)**

Moon jolted awake, he was back in Dr. Andonuts' lab, he was laying on a bed, Sarah was by his side, His eyes darted down, he could see that he was wearing a black hoodie.

"Shit...how long have I been unconscious...how bad has it gotten?" he asked himself.

"Moon?" He looked back up. Sarah was the only person in the room, she looked very pale and very afraid.

"Moon...what happened to you? In Stonehenge...you were...just...you nearly killed Erick and Dyson...you were all violent...but it wasn't your dark side...I know it wasn't...don't even try to lie to me."

Moon bit down on himself. He had barely even been listening to her, her appearance was nearly the same as her dark side, her eyes were still blue, and so was her ribbon. Everything else looked like Dark Sarah.

"I…" Moon was cut off by a sudden wheeze. "Fuck!" he hissed. His throat was closed, and he started coughing.

"Moon? Is something wrong?" she asked with worry.

Moon sprung up from the bed, he felt very weak and very tired. He grabbed his backpack, then Sarah's arm and dragged her out. Erick, Dyson, Petra, and Giovanna, were all sitting down. Out of all of them, Petra looked the most concerned.

"Friend Moon...what's wrong?"

"It's...It's." Moon wheezed, then he coughed up a black essence, only Sarah and Petra saw the black essence however. "Just...come on." he said quickly but weakly. "I don't have much time, get your things and let's roll...No questions...I'll explain later."

Both boys gave a reluctant nod before getting up, Sarah left as well. Moon then turned to face Petra. "That includes you as well, princess." he said weakly. Petra blinked in shock, then stood up. Erick, Dyson and Sarah returned a moment later.

"Why is Petra-"

"I said no questions!" Moon hissed. "Just grab onto me, let's get the hell out of here!"

The four nodded and grabbed onto his arm. They all vanished in a flash of pink light.

Giovanna let out a sigh, that was rather irritating for Moon to take Petra with them and not her. She sat still for a few moments then, she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was Dr. Andonuts.

"Um...Giovanna...I uh...I just received some rather...terrible news from a boy named Jeff. You'll be staying in my care for the time being."

"What why?" she asked.

The Doctor looked a bit pale. "Um...just stay here...This isn't going to be easy for you to hear."

* * *

**(Dark Sanctuary, Fiver)**

Moon led Sarah, Erick, Dyson, and Petra out of the woods into a clearing. After a long walk of weird zigzagging paths and double backs. They finally exited into a clearing, to the left, there was a lake with small bridge that led to a small island with a single cherry blossom tree. Moon quickly led them past that towards a gated town. He had paused a few times to vomit up more of the black essence and his strides became quicker each time they paused.

"Friend Moon, what the hell is going on!" Dyson asked.

"Wh-wh-what part of...no freaking questions...do...you-" Moon vomited up more of the black essence. He didn't speak to any of them after that, it was still late at night, so no one was even outside to see them. He led them to a house similar to his in Onett, it had a blue painted door on the front. Before they even approached it the door suddenly flung open.

"MOON!" A girl wearing an olive green sweater with curly, flaming red hair charged outside to greet them.

"For the love of god you freaking idiot!" she spat at him as he vomited up more of the black essence. "How long has he been like this?" she snapped at the four of them.

"What the hell do you mean?" Dyson snapped. "He's only been coughing up blood very recent-"

"Almost a full day." Petra cut in. Earning her a look from everyone.

The red haired girl closed her eyes and took a severely sharp deep breath. Moon vomited up more of the black essence.

"Are you going to stand there or are you going to help my boyfriend!" Sarah shouted. "He brought us to you! So you can help him right? Why the hell aren't you doing anything?"

The red head opened her green eyes to look at them. "Forgive me," she said rather irritably. "I'm sure you all are very confused...but I just can't stand when Moon comes to me like this." Moon vomited more of the black essence. "His condition is getting worse...I can help him...but he's going to need isolation to recover. Yes even from you Sarah...Moon has already made me aware of your special condition. As long as you stay close to each other, you'll be fine."

"Okay...but...who the hell are you?" Petra asked.

"Right, forgive me." the girl said. "My name is Olive, Olive Thorne, Moon's...um...researcher."

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. So, a few things. One, this chapter got delayed because I had a change of inspiration for how the Starman Deluxe was going to die, it came from PhoenixClaw giving a small extra detail for PSI Earth, I hadn't even considered the Diamondization for PSI Earth ability until he mentioned it so that was cool. Anyway, Saphria, is the last new thing I'm adding, so that's something. Next chapter will probably be on the short side, who knows at this point.  
**

**Anyway, leave a review letting me know what you think, and I'll see you all next time  
**


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Loss and Memories.**

Olive let the five of them into the house, immediately, she took Moon to a downstairs bedroom and set him down on the bed, after handing him a bottle of light blue liquid, she instructed the rest of them out of the room and into the living room where they all sat down on the chairs and sofas scattered about the room. Before anyone could say anything Olive started talking again.

"So...you must be Moon's friends. I know quite a bit about each of you, Sarah Polestar, Erick Andonuts, Prince Dyson, and...I'm assuming that makes you Princess Petra?"

"Correct." Erick answered. "But...you're Olive...the girl who went missing...you're supposed to be-"

"Dead, yeah, I know." Olive responded.

"Why are you here in this village then?" Sarah snapped at her. "Your disapperence has left my boyfriend in a life of misery...because of you, the town thinks he's a murder! Your family misses you...people in Onett miss you! Everyone has been looking for you!"

Olive shook her head. "Moon doesn't like to talk about it, which is why you're all confused. But my family doesn't miss me at all. The fact that they've stayed in Onett after I ran away was enough to cue me in. As for Moon, Sarah, he's the one who suggested I run away, he came with me to Fiver that night to ensure I made it here safely. He knows no one will ever find me here."

"How do you know that your family doesn't miss you?" Erick asked. "Everyone in Onett seems pretty shaken by your disappearance."

"They're abusive bastards." Olive responded, rolling her eyes. "Both of them would hit and kick me constantly whenever I violated one of their stupid rules, Couldn't get less than an A on anything in school, couldn't stay out past eight, and probably most importantly, couldn't hang out with anyone. If I were to return home, they'd kill me...literally."

"How...exactly did you become an acquaintance of friend Moon?" Dyson asked.

"Well, we were sort of playmates when we were younger, when he started acting rough and different around three everyone kind of stayed clear from him even me. At least until we turned eight...that was when I realized something was wrong with him."

"You can see his corruption too...right?" Petra asked.

"His...what?" Erick asked.

"Corruption...it's an effect of Dark Moon, and Dark Sarah as well, everytime they take control, their own body structure takes the place of yours." Olive said. "It can also be used to do a number of interesting things, erase memories, mind control others, even create dark sides on others. I can tell that all of you have experienced corruption one way or another."

"That's...impossible." Sarah said. "Moon made sure our dark sides never touched any of-"

"Actually, he did do it to me." Petra said. Dyson looked at her in shock.

"HE DID WHAT?" He and Sarah shouted.

"Don't be alarmed, and definitely don't be mad at him." Olive said, shrugging slightly. "Aside from Sarah, you all were fully cleansed of all corruption, meaning that Dark Moon did it and Moon realized ahead of time, or he just needed you to follow his orders...or you made contact with another corrupt thing that came from him or Sarah. Like the black essence, or corrupt blood, that Moon has been hacking up.

"So...when friend Sarah was hacking up that stuff...the corruption settled into our bodies...but friend Moon cleansed us at some point...was it with that liquid you gave him? Interesting...Miss Olive, how do you know all this stuff?

"I started helping Moon when we were both eight." Olive responded. She got up and walked over to a bookcase, she pulled out a red journal and sat down, opening the book up. "I helped Moon learn more about his dark side...basically, I decided to do research on him."

"What type of research?" Erick asked.

"A bit of different types of research." Olive said. "I recorded all of my interesting findings with Dark Moon in this journal."

"And Dark Moon never...did anything about this?" Dyson asked in disbelief. "I mean, I find it hard to believe that he let you help friend Moon willingly.

Olive shrugged, "My research came in many different styles, all of which consisted of having Dark Moon in control...my theory is that he liked the control he was getting, and knew that if he brought harm to me, Moon would want to put a stop to it, meaning he wouldn't get corruption spreading through his system again."

"So...you've been helping him through his problems prior to his adventure." Petra said. "But...he says he made a mistake with you...do you know what that mistake was.

Olive flinched, then let out a sigh. "Moon...doesn't like to talk about it, he'd rather forget the whole thing ever happened. But, by the time I came to Moon's aid, he was pretty messed up."

"Because you weren't helping him!" Sarah snapped at her. "If you had just done something earlier he probably wouldn't be so messed up!"

"What he's been telling you about his darkside is what he's come to grudgingly accept Sarah," Olive fired back. "He was adamant and afraid, he didn't want my help at first. But let me make one thing clear to you, I've helped him more than you think! If it wasn't for me, he would've never met you! He wouldn't be here!"

Silence swept over the room. No one looked more horrified by this news than Sarah.

"Sarah everything he's ever told you about his dark side is stuff that I helped him learn about it. By the time I started helping him, he was on the point of committing sucide. If I hadn't accidentally walked in on his attempt, he'd be dead!"

Sarah shifted uncomfortably, her face had slowly become pale and her fists were both shaking.

"Sarah." Erick interjected. "Please stop beating yourself up over what you keep hearing. Yeah, Moon's life sucked...but you need to stop beating yourself up over it. You should be thankful, you've helped him and now you know that he wasn't truly alone his whole life, he had someone help him...someone who helped him meet us."

Sarah continued to shake, it looked like she was ready to start crying again.

"Before you have a meltdown because you're feeling like you've done nothing to help him after what I've said." Olive added. "How about you read this entry I wrote." She handed Sarah the journal which was opened to a page written in green ink.

_Log Entry 14: Corruption seems to have taken a disastrous toll on Moon. His self harm has gotten better...but it still seems to have drastically altered his emotions...he barely expresses remorse or concern for the safety or feelings of others...even his family. It's quite doubtful that he's even capable of feeling love at this point. _

_Needless to say, Dark Moon has started talking about a lot of weird things lately. He says that "It's almost time for destiny to come to light." He doesn't seem too keen on expressing what exactly destiny is, but still. I've also noticed weird mystical properties coming from, he seems intent on telekinesis...maybe even telepathy...I wonder if Moon possesses the same._

_In terms of improvement. As stated above, his self harm has basically ceased at this point. He's gotten better at controlling his temper, so there's been less of a need to keep giving him the cleanser. But he still seems to have a problem in terms of learning to care. I've been trying for nearly five years at this point, if anyone could teach him to care, that'd be the biggest improvement of his life._

Sarah set the notebook down. She didn't know what to think, or what to say.

"So...about that liquid Moon and Sarah drink regularly, what is it?" Erick asked.

"It's called a light reformer...but Moon and I prefer to call it a cleanser. The cleanser on its own doesn't cleanse corruption fully it just pushes it back and reverts the body system back to normal, Moon drained whatever amount of corruption was in the three of you."

"If he can do that...then why didn't he do the same to Dark Sarah?" Erick asked.

"Dark Moon and Dark Sarah are permanent entities, corruption creators, they can't be removed, If Dark Sarah had formed from corruption, then she probably could, but since she's a soul, she can't. Sorry."

Sarah suddenly stood up. She was still shaking, and then she started coughing. Olive got up and handed her a bottle of the cleanser. "Your corruption has been getting pretty out of hand as well...Moon requested that you stay out and listen as long as you could possibly manage you've got basically everything I needed to tell you. You can go rest with him now, I think he's been alone long enough.

Sarah gave a weak nod, she took the bottle and glugged it down. Then she walked into the bedroom Moon was in.

Olive let out a sigh when the door closed behind her, "Moon certainly has learned from his mistake, her condition isn't nearly as bad as his is. I'd argue that she could probably have the corruption spread through her body fully and be able to last about six or seven days before it would be necessary for her to take the cleanser. Moon on the other hand has to take the cleanser within three. That is assuming..." her voice trailed off.

"Assuming what?" Dyson asked.

"Well...Dark Moon and Dark Sarah may act as a sort of alter ego to both of them. But, the corruption also has its own form...you see, if the corruption spreads through their bodies completely, and then lets say that they got angry and their dark sides stepped in. They reach a form that I call...Nightmare. It's not a merge per say, but it's basically a form in which they're aware of their own surroundings, but they're blinded by their anger. If Moon has ever said anything about him being a monster, that form is what he's referring to."

"What exactly...happens when either of them reach Nightmare?" Erick asked.

"As I stated, they basically become monsters. They're barely even human at that point, their behavior becomes so out of control and violent that they'd put some of history's worst people to shame. I've only seen Nightmare once, and that memory still terrifies me. Now that Moon has those PSI powers, I shudder at the thought of what Nightmare is capable of."

"Well, from what happened at Stonehenge, he turned the Starman Deluxe into a diamond." Petra said.

"HE DID WHAT?" Olive shouted.

"He turned it to stone...Diamondized it." Dyson said.

"I know about Diamondization." Olive said. "Your country has studied PSI powers and you don't even know how dangerous that is?"

Petra let out a tiny squeak. "Oh shit, I completely forgot about that!" she said, rubbing her head.

"He turned it to stone...then he cut it into smaller pieces." Erick said. "I don't really see what's wrong with that."

"Diamondization is a fate worse than death!" Petra explained. "You're still conscious the whole time your body is like that! You aren't dead persay, but you can't die, you can't age, you can't do anything! You're just eternally trapped, encased in diamond. Not even being split into smaller pieces can kill you, you'll still be conscious even in that state. Only an Omega version of Healing is capable of bringing someone back, and it's very rare that anyone can even learn that."

"Well on the bright side, at least we know that Nightmare can be stopped." Erick said. "Sarah was able to knock him out."

"That's...not how stopping Nightmare works." Olive said. "Unlike with Dark Moon and Dark Sarah, Moon and Sarah still have awareness of their surroundings in Nightmare form, I'm assuming that Sarah was in emotional distress when this happened correct?" The three of them nodded.

"She was holding him down on the floor, crying, and shouting at him to stop." Petra said.

"Yeah...Love is the one thing that stops Nightmare and their dark sides. When Nightmare Moon made eye contact with Sarah and saw her in emotional distress over him, it's basically the only way you are able to stop Nightmare...seeing emotional distress from someone will make him freeze."

"When you say love...it makes me wonder if-"

"If Moon and I had a thing going on." Olive finished for Erick. "Nope, if Moon ever had any feelings for me, they're long gone by this point. Unlike the three of you, I'm not protected by any sort of dark side morale or rules. I used to be protected by them but…"

"But what?" Dyson asked.

Olive shifted uncomfortably. "Well...this is the mistake Moon blames himself for...but, if I'm being honest...it's technically my fault." she fingered a pendant around her neck with a star on it. "Dark Moon is sneaky and horrifying for Moon to go through...it's not exactly the type of thing we'd ever understand. With all the corruption Moon's been through...trying to make good with him is next to impossible. I'm sure you've taken to notice how...weird he is?"

"Yeah, his behavior always seemed kind of like a recent development." Erick said.

"Well, that's because it is." Olive sighed. "You wouldn't understand it, because you didn't know him before. He used to be seriously messed up. He didn't understand simple things about friendship...the littlest sign of uncomfortability would set him off...he was a wreck, the fact that he could even socialize properly was an amazement. For the longest time, it felt like I wasn't making progress with him. It was really frustrating, it probably didn't help that I was being physically abused by my stupid ass parents. But...one of the first things I taught him how to do as a friend was giving birthday presents...and...he missed my birthday by a week. When he gave me this star pendant a week later...I kind of lost it."

"What happened?" Petra asked. To their great surprise a few tears started to flow down Olive's cheeks."

"I told him he was a hopeless piece of shit, that he was a failure, that no one would ever want to be friends with an idiot who couldn't remember someone's birthday. I told him he was a horrible messed up psychopath that I was trying to help. He told me he was trying his best...and asked me to calm down. I didn't listen to him, I just kept shouting at him telling him how messed up he was. Then...I called him a monster."

"Which is why you're no longer protected...because you said something that made him think you'd given up hope on him...that you didn't consider him a friend?"

"Yeah...No matter how hard I try to convince him, he still believes that was his fault. I tell him time and time again that it was my fault because I didn't listen to him. But he refuses to let me take the blame for it." She wiped her eyes with her hand.

"A-any-anyway, I'm sure you are all pretty tired, Moon was given this house from the townsfolk to let me stay...it's got a handful of bedrooms, I'm sure you can all make yourselves comfortable."

* * *

**(Later that night)**

Moon awoke inside the downstairs bedroom. Sarah was laying next to him, still asleep as well. Gently, he stroked her hair, he didn't know why, but stroking her hair felt very nice and relaxing, it gave him a strange feeling that he didn't understand. Then the feeling slowly started to disappear, with the future he was guiding her towards...it was hard for him to think positively. He lifted himself out of bed and began to look around.

Sarah suddenly began to stir. She awoke with a startled jump. Then she turned over to face him. She got up and got behind him. She tapped him and he turned to face her.

"Hey." she said quietly.

Moon bit down on his lip as he looked at her, her eyes sparkled in the moonlight, he had never seen her look so pretty if he was being honest.

"Moon? Is something wrong?"

"Um." He thought about it for a moment. "Yeah...actually, Sarah...y-you didn't have plans for after this adventure did you?"

She looked puzzled by his question. "No...I haven't been thinking about the end of this...I'd suppose I'd return home to Twoson an-" she caught his look. "Moon...don't worry...whatever happens, I'll still love you...we can make our relationship work until we turn eighteen, after that, we can start our life together."

Moon looked down at his feet. "Sarah...there's uh...there's a problem...I can't go home after this adventure."

"What do you mean? Moon, Olive is alive! You can clear yourself!"

"Sarah...it's not that simple, if they find Olive, they'll just put her back with her family, they'll kill her Sarah...I've seen what they've done to her...I can't let Olive return home...the townsfolk here take good care of her, she's a part of their enclosed community."

"Then...you can stay with me and my family." Sarah said. "Moon...you can live with me until…"

"Sarah...I can't stay with you in Twoson...it's too risky."

"So...what are you going to do?"

Moon looked down at his feet. Sarah knew he was struggling to tell her something. She concentrated her thoughts on his then she heard his voice.

"_What...What am I going to do?"_ his voice asked. "_I guess the only option is Operation Darkness...but...I don't know."_

Sarah bit down, the name Operation Darkness was familiar to her.

"Moon...what is Operation Darkness?"

Moon bit down on his lip. "Um...Operation Darkness is a protocol for a way of life that I came up with. It's a style of life that...thanks to our boundation...affects both of us."

"But...what is it?"

"It's...um-"

"It's where the two of you run away from home, hide yourselves, isolated from society, so that no one could ever be harmed your darkside."

Both of them turned, Olive was standing in the doorway to the bedroom.

"I heard the two of you talking...I just figured I'd come check on you."

Sarah turned back to Moon, "So...you...you want me to not go home...to leave my friends and family?"

Moon bit down on himself. "No…" he said. "I'm not going to force you to give up your life in Twoson...just...ask that you consider my offer...If you wish to go home to Twoson, then I'll stay close, maybe live with Everdread so that our boundation doesn't harm you."

Sarah looked down at her feet. She wasn't sure what to say back to him.

"Just...sleep on it Sarah...I want to talk to Olive in private, you've got until we defeat Giygas to make your decision. Don't rush yourself to pick now."

Suddenly, a loud explosion blew and rang through the area. The ground shook for a moment before stopping. A few starmen suddenly appeared in the room, all of them grabbed onto the three of them and they all vanished in a flash of pink light.

* * *

Moon appeared in the middle of a field. His vision was a bit disoriented, he quickly shook himself back to reality. Pokey stood in front of him, his arms folded with an evil smile on his face. Behind him, two starmen were holding onto Sarah and Olive respectively.

"Moon you pinheaded fucking idiot." Pokey snarled. "You never seem to learn from your mistakes do you? You lead us right to where we needed to be."

"PK ROLLIN γ!" No light shone from off his hand.

"Don't bother." Pokey snarled. "We placed a PSI block on you and Sarah. Master Giygas isn't an idiot like you."

"What the hell do you fucking want with us?" Sarah shouted. Her shouts earned her an electrical shock from the Starman holding her.

Pokey grinned at Moon's horrified face of anger. "You don't like seeing it do you? Make one move, and we'll execute both of them!"

Moon suddenly got a flash vision. In it, he summoned Saphria from somewhere and stabbed Pokey with it, which made the Starman shoot PK Beams at Sarah and Olive before vanishing. When he went to use lifeup on them...it didn't work. Instead, their lifeless bodies lay motionless on the ground.

He was snapped back to reality. Pokey had turned around and moved back towards Sarah and Olive.

"Master Giygas has given me clearance to do this. I'm sure you remember the TV show Arrow...correct?" Moon gave a reluctant nod. "Good, I'm sure you remember a situation on the show similar to this, you have to pick which one lives on in this world...we'll kill the other one.

Moon looked between Olive and Sarah. He didn't know why, but what should've been an easy, obvious decision was now a conflicting moral decision. Sarah had given him something special, something he thought he lost. He'd never felt the same way about anything before. In every universe, he'd pick Sarah. But for some reason, whenever he thought about Olive, he couldn't bring himself to say that he'd pick Sarah over her.

"Not going to pick?" Pokey snarled. "Then we'll make it easy. He looked at the Starman holding Sarah.

"NO!" Olive shouted.

Pokey looked at her. "Pokey," Olive said with a dead stare. "Your brain may be a pea, but you and I both know that this is far from a choice for Moon...you know who he'd pick."

"OLIVE NO!" Moon cried. "Please no!"

Olive turned to face him. "Moon, you and I both know that you wouldn't pick me, even if picking me meant the removal of your dark side. Stop acting like you care about me! I've done all I can for you, stop pretending to be someone you aren't! You've got happiness! You have something that you lost thanks to Sarah! Don't make that same mistake! Don't risk throwing away something good for you! JUST PICK SARAH YOU IDIOT!"

"NO OLIVE!" Moon cried. "I CAN'T LET YOU DIE!"

Sarah watched the two of them shout back and forth. For any normal human being, she knew that she should be upset that Moon was actually struggling with this choice, but for some reason, she actually felt...happy? For the first time, she was seeing Moon show emotion for someone other than her...it actually looked like he was a normal human in this decision, not someone blinded by one thing that had happened. Plus, deep down, she knew that Moon would pick her...his outburst towards Olive was nothing more than a breakout of human nature. In his mind and in his heart, He'd choose her...every single time.

Pokey frowned. "Well, if you are so willing to die, then I guess I don't have much of a choice."

"NO!" Moon screamed. "OLIVE NO! PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU!"

The Starman's visor lit up, then an orange beam shot through Olive's chest. Pokey and the two Starmen then vanished. Leaving Sarah on the ground, Moon fell to the ground. Sarah ran to his side.

"Moon?"

Moon looked up at her, tears flowed down his cheeks. "S-S-Sarah." he cried weakly. "G-g-go g-get h-her n-necklace!"

Sarah looked at him. Then she moved over to Olive. She had only known her for a few hours...but she felt devastated at her death...she was just keeping it together for him. She reached for the pendant only for Olive to weakly grab her arm. Causing her to jump back.

"S-S-Sarah." she gasped. "Pr-Pr-Promise me you'll t-t-take care of him...h-h-he may seem strong...b-b-but I've never seen him better than he-" She coughed. "S-s-sorry...I've never seen Moon happier than h-h-he h-ha-has with you...Pl-ple-please...take care of him...for me."

Sarah looked into her eyes. "I promise...I'll make sure I keep him happy."

The redhead gave a weak smile. "Th-thanks Sarah...y-you truly a-are th-the one for him." She closed her eyes and didn't move anymore.

Sarah stayed put for a moment, then she carefully removed the pendant from around Olive's neck, curiously, she remembered having a Star Pendant herself when she was younger. She walked back over to Moon, who was still crying on the ground.

"Moon?" she asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"N-No," Moon cried. "It-it's j-just...can you just give me some space?"

Sarah nodded. "Sure...when we get back to the house, you can have as much space as you'd like. Just please Moon...let's get back to our friends."

Moon gave a weak nod, Sarah grabbed onto his arm and they vanished from the field in a flash of pink light.

* * *

**(Fiver)**

The two appeared on the outskirts of the house. Petra, Erick, and Dyson all approached them. The sun was just rising over a hilltop in the distance.

"Hey...where'd you all go?" Erick asked. "And...where's...Olive?"

Moon let out a cry and pushed through the three of them running back into the house. The three turned back to Sarah, who was still holding onto Olive's pendant.

"She's...she's dead." Sarah said quietly. "Pokey killed her...right in front of us."

Erick looked down, "That's...that's gonna sting...more importantly...shouldn't Dark Moon be…"

Sarah shook her head. "He's not angry...he's just...devastated...Just...give him some space."

Moon had locked himself back in the downstairs bedroom, completely isolated from his friends. He didn't understand it, he often times hated having to go see Olive, and yet, here he was, crying over someone he shouldn't be crying over. Was...was this what grief felt like, was this what being a human was like...feeling emotions for someone that he…"

"_Moon."_

"What the acutal fucking hell do you want right now?" Moon cried.

"_Sorry, you mistook me for your dark side...let me try again...Master Wolfe, I understand that you are upset and grieving over the loss of someone close to you, but you must understand, it was fate for her to die just now. There was no way around it, any move you could have made would've just resulted in her death, but some moves you could've made would've just resulted in not only her death, but the death of Sarah as well." _

"Oh...it's you." Moon muttered, "Wait...how are you talking to me?"

"_I am no ordinary book, much like your sword Saphria, we both were created to channel ourselves to people we deemed worthy, we are able to communicate with you for a brief amount of time should we deem it necessary. If you wish to learn more about yourself, and what the future holds for you, you might as well just open me, maybe then you'll learn what you're going to do about filling the obvious hole that Olive's death has left you in."_

Moon shook himself back to reality. He was still in the bedroom. Saphria was lying on the ground next to his backpack. Curiously, he opened up his backpack and took the Demonrift out of it. He opened to a page from the Imperium Cluster. He was about to start flipping back to Giegue when he paused.

"This world is the home of Smash Bros, Bayonetta, and...fucking Kid Icarus." he said, glancing at the parentheses. "Which means it's the home of...her."

He remembered very fondly that he absolutely hated Kid Icarus Uprising. Well that was sort of false, in terms of game story, it wasn't half bad. But the characters were pretty annoying, especially Palutena. Oh how that goddess just loved to get in his way...but, maybe she wasn't as bad as he first thought, with access to the Demonrift, maybe he could learn a bit more about her. He flipped past an obvious biography of Pit, and then Dark pit, before coming to a halt on the next page. On the left was a picture of a woman with long green hair, wearing a white robe or gown, holding a staff on the right was a description.

_054 Palutena Icarus, The so called "Goddess of Light."_

_While Skyworld may be my home cluster, I have no say in anything political...This Goddess is the prime reason why. Shame, for she would make an excellent temporary ally. She ultimately does the right thing. However, I myself do not respect her way of getting things done...Medusa still runs rampid with the underworld army, Viridi and Dark Pit could most certainly use some supervision, and of course "The Witch" still hasn't been dealt with. Palutena has always had suspicions about my work...but I can assure you, until she barred me from my research all together, I never once had associated myself with Giygas. My master has expressed concerns about her discovering this book. But never fear, No one else from this cluster can even read this book...it's a simple spell, but it's quite unbreakable. To the successors of the Demonrift, never trust this woman._

Moon snorted. "Wow," he said. A fine print appeared below it.

_You may think this is funny, but you know Master Wolfe, this woman is untrustworthy._

Moon shrugged, then he started flipping back to Dark Sanctuary. He passed by a handful of other characters from Fire Emblem, and then from more old time games like the Ice Climbers. He came to a rest on his portrait, after passing by Petra, Dyson, Erick and Sarah in the book. Giovanna, despite being one of the main six in the front page of the Dark Sanctuary chapter, had been mysteriously left out.

_Moon Wolfe, The Son of Giygas*_

_Moon is an inhabitant of the Dark Sanctuary World. This world as mentioned above is incredibly unique, Moon exists as Ness's counterpart. Don't let that fool you! Moon is an incredibly powerful kid, I would argue that he and his friends are stronger than Ness. My research on this world has come up quite well, but what I do see horrifies me. Moon has a main difference from Ness, unlike Ness, Moon somehow has Hydrokinesis, and Geokinesis. According to Giygas, no known records of PK Hydro and PK Earth have ever existed. _

_We had assumed that PK Earth and PK Ground were the same thing but that was far from the truth, PK Earth is able to create and manipulate the Earth's surface using any type of Rock, Natural Material, or Gemstone. It can also animate gemstone statues into golems, and perhaps worst of all, it can be used to Diamondize others. Moon prefers to use gemstones most of the time however._

_PK Hydro seemed like nothing more than a simple one trick move, that was another wrong assumption. By some idiotic logic, Moon can use PK Hydro to grab enemies, cause Tsunamis, and create whirlpools, how on earth is water able to grab enemies? We have no damn clue! _

_Another point of interest is that he also possess PK Rockin, however he prefers to call it PK Rollin. He also wields a special type of sword, it's Sapphire bladed with an Emerald grip, only he is able to wield it though and I have no idea why._

Moon glanced at Saphria, the Sword of Darkness, he only had it for maybe a day, but still, this book was telling him that he'd continue to use it. He glanced back down at his description, it was noticeably longer than many others.

_Onto a more pressing concern: Moon shares a soul with Giygas. Not my Master Giygas, but the Giygas of Dark Sanctuary. This makes Moon technically the Son of Giygas. The Starman Deluxe put Giygas' soul in both Moon and Sarah when they were both babies. Neither of them remember the encounter. _

_This supposed "Dark Moon" appears to take over and control Moon's actions whenever Moon becomes angry or whenever Moon wishes. Dark Moon is an entity of pure evil, he does things primarily for the benefit of himself or Dark Sarah. Understandably, they'd make for great weapons if their dark sides gained permanent control…"_ The rest of the text was cut off.

Moon blinked, "So...whoever wrote this clearly knows what the deal is with our Dark sides...but why is the text so mysteriously cut off."

As if it could read his mind, a fine print appeared below it

_Sorry Master Wolfe, but there is some information that I need to withhold from you, if I were to show you this information then your timeline would become even more of a heaping mess! I can hide my own information at will if need be, as time goes on, I will re-add information in._

Moon let out a sigh, even an all seeing book needed to follow basic rules of time travel. Then, curiosity kicked in. He flipped over to Sarah's page where she was pictured next to him, a description about as long as his was listed next to her. In their portrait together, she held a Mr. Saturn with a green bow on its head.

_Sarah Jones Wolfe (Polestar), The Daughter of Giygas*_

_Sarah as you could probably tell, is Paula's counterpart. Much like Paula, she is quite a fierce fighter, but she also shows a more timid side to herself. At first glance it'd be impossible to figure out a single difference between the two of them. Looking deeper however, we found something quite dark as well. _

_Sarah and Moon are a couple, they've both declared their love to each other long ago and their journey to defeat Giygas went to whole way with their relationship, even to the point of marriage...Because of this, both of their PSI powers are drastically unstable, both care deeply for each other, they've been through everything as a couple, far more than any normal human could ever imagine. _

_These two on their own are very dangerous, they create massive problems for anyone who attempts to fight them. You attack Sarah, you'll get pounded by Moon and vice versa, the only optimal strategy I could possibly find for defeating both of them is attacking them together, this is easier said than done, they are always by each other's side and will constantly unleash PSI combos on you._

_Secondly, Sarah's function as Moon's...uh...keeper. She is the only person in existence that Dark Moon listens to, as such she's been keeping Moon's darker side under control. He does the same for her with Dark Sarah._

_Now onto a few differences between her and Paula, Sarah is able to use PK Ground and PK Starstorm as well as PK Love. Also she too shares a soul with Giygas, thus making her the Daughter of Giygas._

Moon let out a silent sigh as he closed the book. Well, according to this book, even the future showed them with their dark sides. But, something bothered him, without Olive, there was no one to create the cleanser. Sure he could make it himself, but it was better for someone else to create and hold onto them. Without Olive, there currently wasn't someone to do that. He didn't want to deprive Erick and Dyson of their futures by having them make it.

Then the sparkle of the Petra's tiara was reflected by the blade of Saphria. Moon looked at it, in the chaos that had happened, he had completely forgotten to give her tiara back to her. He shrugged, he needed someone to fill Olive's role, whether that was going to be him or Petra was entirely dependent on what she wanted.

Then he noticed something under the bed. He swiped under the bed and another book came out, this one was a book entitled _Overcoming Shyness_.

"Well, that's convenient." Moon said. He placed the Demonrift and Overcoming Shyness in his backpack and laid Saphria out on the bed. He let out a sigh, the Demonrift had thankfully taken his mind off of Olive, so he felt much better...but still...he just felt really off his footing. Perhaps it was best that they spend the rest of the day here and head back to Tenda Village in the morning.

He walked outside of the bedroom. Each of his friends were sitting down on the sofas scattered throughout the living room. They all looked up when he approached them.

"Hey...how are you feeling?" Erick asked.

"Better...much better...thanks." Moon said. "I just...want to stay here one more night, we can head back to Tenda Village tomorrow, I found a book for Overcoming Shyness in the bedroom."

"Ahem." Dyson cleared his throat. "Um...pardon my interruption friend Moon, but I have a request to make...considering what happened to Petra in Dalaam, I do not find returning her home to be a safe move. I was hoping that she could maybe come with us for the rest of our adventure."

Moon shrugged. "Sure, I guess that's alright." he said. "But um...don't mind me asking...princess, I have a request to ask of you."

"What is it?" Petra asked.

"Olive was sort of the person who created the cleanser for me and Sarah...I know that we could make it ourselves...but it's best that someone else makes and holds onto it. I was hoping that you wouldn't mind taking Olive's place in making it for us."

The princess nodded. "Sure, I'd be happy to help you." Moon smiled.

"You'll need Olive's journal for it's recipe," he said. "You won't need to do her research on us, in fact I highly advise that you don't. But you'd be able to make it, it's a simple recipe. I've already raided the rest of her supply, so we should have enough for now."

"So...we're going to stay here for the rest of the day?" Sarah asked. "What are we going to do?"

"Olive's got movies listed in this cabinet right here." Moon said. "It's best that we avoid telling the townsfolk what happened." he knelt down and opened the cabinet. He shuffled through the movies for a while.

"You know...it's almost Halloween...we should watch something spooky! Let's watch a horror movie!" Erick said.

"Aren't we a bit to young watch those types of movies?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, Yes we are...but come on, let's get into the Halloween spirit!"

Moon picked up a movie that was lying down on the ground. "Who's up for a little Final Destination Marathon?"

"A what now?" Dyson asked with a puzzled look.

"Final Destination, you know...the movie where a bunch of people avoid a major accident that would've claimed their lives because of a premonition...then Death comes back to pick them off one by one in the most absurd death traps ever!" Erick said.

"I like the sound of that!" Petra said, clapping her hands together. "Let's get watching!"

The five friends sat through all five movies, reacting to the stupid and silly deaths that awaited each character througout the five movies. They shared hearty laughs as death claimed each victim one by one.

"It's like Bludworth said ." Moon said after the fifth movie finished. "You can't escape death, no matter how hard you try."

"Whoever decided to make the fifth movie a prequel was a freaking genius!" Sarah exclaimed.

Dyson looked at the clock. "Friend Moon, it's best that we rest up. The time zones are a bit wonky, it's now midnight over in Deep Darkness, we are four hours behind that."

The four others nodded in agreement and went to their respective rooms.

"Moon?" Sarah asked as they climbed back into bed. "I...uh...I've been thinking about what you said...last night...before...you know."

Moon drew in a breath looking at her. "Sarah, if you don't want to runaway and hide until we're eighteen...I completely understand...I won't force you to-"

Sarah shushed him, to his surprise tears started flowing down her cheeks. "Moon...I will go with you...wherever it is that we have to go...I'll go with you!"

Moon flinched. He knew that something was wrong, Sarah was not the type of person who'd just accept this decision, something had to have convinced her otherwise...he was expecting to have to beg her to go with him when this was over.

"Sarah...what's wrong? Why are you deciding to just come with me?"

Sarah looked away from him. "I-I-I've been having these w-weird dreams...or...maybe they're visions." she said, looking down. "I-In those dreams...I-I-I kill my parents...be-because I couldn't control my dark side...Please...I don't want them to die...please just listen to me...we can leave, run away...prevent that outcome from happening."

Moon looked at her in a dead silence. "Sarah...why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I...I was scared...I wasn't sure what you'd think...Moon...in that vision, you don't go through with Operation Darkness and my parents die because of it...please...don't make that mistake happen."

Moon wrapped her in a hug. She buried her face in his chest and just kept crying. "Moon...how are you dealing with this? You're just...just-"

"I'm like a robot?" Moon asked. "Sarah-"

"No!" she cried, she looked up at him, there was a look of anger in her eyes. "Moon would it kill you to try and act l-" Moon covered her mouth and gave her a fierce look of anger.

"Sarah." he said warningly. "You did listen to what Olive said right? She didn't think and let her frustration with my emotions get the better of her...because of that, she lost her protection from my dark sides moral...if you keep going, you and I may both lose our control over our respective dark sides. Then I can't help you any more."

The look of frustration in her eyes faded, he uncovered her mouth and held her close to him. "Sarah...look at me, I have little to no happiness and no positivity. Do you want that? Do want a life where the only good feeling you have comes from me?"

Sarah shook her head. "No...no...I'm sorry, I wasn't th-" Moon silenced her with a kiss.

"Sarah, don't be sorry...I get that I can be frustrating...I'm trying to make that not be the case. The fact that you've helped me this whole time and have only now gotten frustrated is a good sign. It shows that you aren't like me, someone who gets frustrated about everything. I just need to make sure you don't get too frustrated."

The two cuddled together in silence for a while, Moon slightly stroking her hair as they sat in silence.

"Hey...Sarah." Moon said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you still have Olive's pendant?" Sarah nodded in response.

Moon looked into her eyes. "Could...could you please wear it...It's...it's really special to me, It's not just a gift I gave to Olive, someone special gave me this long ago...she told me that no matter what happened...this pendant would signify us as friends...I haven't found her since then, so I keep it as a bit of a memory...just knowing that somewhere out there, someone appreciated me when I was younger."

Sarah nodded and put the pendant around her neck. "Well...goodnight Moon." she said.

"Goodnight Sarah."

The two laid back down on the bed. Moon didn't fall asleep however, there was still one last thing he wanted to do. He waited until he heard Sarah's quiet breathing, letting him know she had fallen asleep. Then, after grabbing Saphria, he teleported out of the room.

He appeared back in the same field that he had watched Pokey kill Olive in. He walked towards where Olive's body was still lying down. Remembering what he had read from the Demonrift, he used PK Earth to create a hole in the ground for her body. Then he quietly placed her down in the hole and covered it up. Using PK Earth to summon a small rock to serve as a tombstone. Using his powers, he carved into the stone.

_Olive Throne, An amazing friend, One who I shall cherish forever_

He let out a sigh, his desired future had never been so clear before. Saphria clutched in his hand suddenly started glowing. "Make no mistake Pokey." Moon said. "I'm going to find you...and when I do...I will kill you." he didn't mean that as a threat anymore, after everything Pokey had done to him, Sarah, Erick, Dyson, and now Petra and Olive, he had made up his mind, it didn't matter what anyone thought, if he found Pokey, he would kill him.

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter, It was finished yesterday, but I had a conflicting decision on whether or not I should go through with my plans for this chapter. I did decide to go through with it seeing as it was my original plan for this chapter, Olive's death was always planned to be here, I know it seems kind of random and forced, but I decided this ahead of time and I hope that I wrote it in well enough.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed looking a bit more into the Demonrift, and also getting a bit of background of Saphria as well. As I stated, this chapter was a heavy conflict for me, please, if there was ever a time I'd like to hear thoughts, it'd probably be now. I don't have the highest of confidence that this is what you all will like, but it's what intended and I have to stick with it...Also, we've got five party members now...at least until after Fire Spring...so...I hope you are excited for that.**

**Anyway, leave a review if you want. I'll see you next chapter. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: Hall of Lights and Mirrors.**

Moon teleported back to the house at Fiver. The sun was now rising over a hilltop in the distance. He figured it would probably be better to let his friends rest a little while longer before then considering that he still had Saphria with him, he figured it was best that he try to get used to having a sword over a bat. As the thought crossed his mind, the blade suddenly began to glow again.

"The Demonrift said you could talk to me." Moon said to himself. The blade started to glow brighter, then a hushed female voice spoke to him.

"_Master Wolfe, using a sword is no easy task...it's a weapon of skill, unlike a silly baseball bat, frying pan, or laser gun. I require tactics that make you think, it's unreasonable to just swing me around aimlessly."_

"Friend Moon?"

Moon blinked back to reality. Dyson had apparently risen from his slumber and had come outside to see him. He had his Sword of Kings with him as well.

"Friend Moon, pardon my interruption...but...I just remembered something about Saphria...tell me, was she…talking to you?"

"Um...yeah...why?"

The young prince frowned. "There exists an ancient tale in Dalaam, it's a tale that resides at the hands of the signature Sword of Kings...I think that Saphria might be the lost Dalaamesse treasure that was stolen...the tale tells of twin brothers, both of whom were in line for the throne of Dalaam. The legend says that the Sword of Kings was foraged for the older brother in line to be king. Alongside another sword, meant for the younger brother who wasn't."

"Okay...that's...kind of random."

"Let me continue." Dyson said. "By complete accident, the younger son was given the Sword of Kings...ordinarily, this wouldn't be a problem, however, the sword claimed him as the new king of Dalaam, and well...the people abided by it. His older brother was furious...so he took the other sword...and killed his brother. He ruled as a ruthless tyrant for decades before he was shoved off the edge of Dalaam by a group of rebels. The sword went with him."

"So...what does this legend has to do with Saphria?"

"Well, according to the legend, due to a lack of silver and gold, the usual metals we usually use for weapons, the second sword was created out of gemstones, things like Sapphires and Emeralds. Also, in Dalaam, weapons created for great leaders are designed to be powerful, to prevent great power from falling into the hands of the wrong people, weapons were foraged with an enchantment to learn the ways of their first master, then, use those qualities to determine if someone else was worthy of such power. It is likely that the gemstone sword took to the ways of the corrupt brother, which would mean that it would look for someone similar to it. According to what I heard from Miss Olive, the damage done to your body by Giygas's soul and corruption seem to meet the qualifications for that sword."

"Okay...so...what does that mean for me?" Moon asked.

"Essentially, it means nothing friend Moon...no one knows what that sword was made out of and nobody dared go down from Dalaam to try and retrieve such a deadly weapon in the first place. But, it's best that you keep Saphria out of sight from our people should we ever need to visit Dalaam again."

"Yeah...I don't think that'll be a problem." Moon said. "It's not like I know how to use a sword in the first place."

The young prince's face brightened. "I could tutor you, friend Moon...we don't need to leave back for Tenda Village immediately, plus, everyone else is still asleep...speaking of which...why were you awake?"

"I was just taking a walk...thinking...about something."

Dyson usually kept a straight face, however, he did show a bit of remorse. "Are you sure you're okay...friend Moon?" he asked quietly. "Loss and grieving are not easy things to deal with...Olive was very close to you...I'd argue maybe as close as you and friend Sarah are."

Moon swallowed. "Y-Yeah...I'll be fine."

The young prince nodded. "Well, friend Moon, I can tutor you in the art of a blade." he said, he drew the sword of kings out. "Let us spar against each other."

"Um...prince Dyson." Moon said. "I don't think it's wise that we spar in training. The Starman Deluxe told me that Saphria invokes a temporary corruption...the pain from our dark sides is pretty unbearable...even if it's just temporary, I don't want you getting hurt."

"I've trained in very harsh conditions in preparation for this adventure...I'm sure your corruption won't be as bad."

Moon gripped Saphria, the blade suddenly began glowing again.

"_Uh huh...so you're going to try to learn to use me properly? Well, I can help you during your fight, it's not like you're in any mortal danger...but you should still get used to me."_

"Great...now I've got more fucking voices in my head." Moon muttered.

"_To be fair, Saphria will only talk to you if she deems it necessary, so she'll probably only speak to you during a battle, the Demonrift prefers to keep quiet, and then there's me."_

"Do you ever shut up Dark?" Moon hissed.

"_Just be grateful you didn't get the voice of the Hawk Eye in your head." _

"_Why are you hindering Master Wolfe Master Dark Wolfe?" _

"Just what I needed, all of you talking at once."

"_Master Wolfe, On your left!" _

"Wait what?" Moon was cut off as Dyson swung the Sword of Kings at him. He quickly dodged out of the way.

"What the hell man...I don't need destroying my hoodie."

"_Wait...if you're wearing a hoodie, shouldn't it basically be torn to shreds right about now, I mean good grief, you've been engulfed by flames, slashed at by a mole, turned to diamond, struck by lightning, and much more."_

"Oh joy you're THAT type."

"Friend Moon? Are you ready this time?" Dyson asked, snapping him back to reality. Moon took his hoodie off of him and set it on the ground. Then turned back to Dyson.

"Now I'm ready."

Dyson made a swift charge towards him, swinging the Sword of Kings at him. Moon quickly dodged out of the way. Then, Moon decided to swing Saphria in a dancing blade type of way. However, Dyson was ready and quickly dodged his quick strikes with Saphria, then slashed across Moon's chest.

"_Both of your strategies seem to rely on your respective speeds Master Wolfe, mayhaps a counter is in order?" _

"How do I counter?" Moon asked.

"_If I'm not mistaken, you can use Teleport Sigma...sometimes called PSI Warp...if you can get him in for a close strike, then use some strength to kick yourself through your warp to counterstrike his attack with me. You know, like Greninja does in Super Smash Brothers."_

"I don't think that's how substitute works...but I see where you are coming from."

Dyson went in for another strike with the Sword of Kings. Moon braced himself to block with Saphria, both swords clanged together, then, taking her advice, he concentrated on teleport sigma, then, he kicked off the ground, shot through a portal, and landed a penetrated slash across Dyson. Who instantly jumped back, clutching his chest in pain.

"M-M-Most impressive...friend Moon." He gasped. "A counter like that is certainly unexpected." Shadow color had spread onto his body, which worried Moon.

"_Do not worry about your friend Master Wolfe, the corruption I invoked is temporary and cannot create corrupt hosts. People in your cluster have built up a resistance to this temporary corruption since Giygas has used so much of it throughout your multiverse. Your friend shall only feel the corruption pain for a minute or so...had you used it on someone not from your cluster, they could experience pain for several hours...maybe even days. The corruption also stacks as well, so had you landed more strikes with your dancing blade, he'd experience it longer."_

As if on cue, the shadow color disappeared from Dyson's body. The young prince stopped groaning in pain and lifted himself back off the ground. He used lifeup to heal himself and nodded at Moon.

"Woah...that stinging pain throughout my body...it felt horrible...then it just stopped."

"That's the temporary corruption that Saphria invokes."

The young prince looked a bit concerned. "Friend Moon...are you not going to?"

"Cleanse you?" Moon asked. "Saphria said that her corruption is temporary, I can see corruption on the bodies of others, it has disappeared on yours, so I'm going to trust her."

Dyson nodded. "Very well then, A counter is a good start...but you still need some more practice, let us continue! I shall teach you everything I know."

The two sparred against each other for a while. Dyson's teachings quickly became absorbed by Moon who would use them against him, even invoking his own strategy. The swords clanged against each other several times, then, Dyson outsmarted him and stuck him the leg before getting on top of him. Moon fell to the ground, and he landed on his hoodie pocket, which shot the small box out of his pocket. Dyson looked at it with interest.

"Friend Moon...is that what I think it is?" He asked in shock. Moon looked over at it.

"Um...yeah." he said, going red in the face.

"Friend Moon, you're actually going ask friend Sarah to marry you?"

"I uh...I haven't decided yet." Moon said, going more red. "The ring isn't anything too special...just a small family heirloom that my grandmother gave to me before she died. After hearing everything you said about our boundations...and with our dark sides...I just figured, we might as well seal the deal at some point."

Dyson gave him a look of skepticism. "Are you not confident in the assumption that once Giygas is killed that his soul may disappear from yours and friend Sarah's body? That seems to be the case for everything we've been fighting."

Moon shook his head. "Our dark sides are a permanent entity. Sarah's already had future visions that show us after Giygas' defeat, our dark sides are still present."

"Well regardless, friend Moon, marriage is quite a leap forward in your relationship...friend Sarah may not be ready for such a thing."

"Yeah...I know." Moon said, shrugging slightly. He picked the box back up and put it in his backpack. "Plus...I'm not sure I'm ready for it."

"Well, friend Moon, when you are ready, Dalaam has an area we can hold your ceremony, marriage at a young age isn't as weird as you may think...Petra and I married at the age of ten.

"Yeah, but I'm no prince."

"But you're no monster either." Dyson said.

Moon shrugged, "We've got a long way to go until I think I'll be ready to pop that question, but, according to the future...that's what's in store for me and Sarah...she doesn't know it yet...and, if I'm being honest, I kind of want to surprise her with it, can I trust that you'll keep this a secret, this does include Erick and Petra."

The young prince nodded. "You tell me any secret and I will keep it friend Moon, I was trained to serve you and follow your orders...you can have absolute confidence in me keeping this secret."

"Good...now...where were we?" Moon asked.

"I believe, that we were about to practice on channeling your powers towards your sword." Dyson said. "Much like those heroes from that Super Smash Brothers game, we can channel the use our elemental PSI powers towards our swords...I'll need something to demonstrate, do you mind making a statue?"

Moon shook his head and quickly made use Pk Earth to summon a statue, an obsidian statue bearing a resemblance to a wolf appeared on the ground. "Now, friend Moon, watch carefully." Dyson said. Moon watched as Dyson's hand started to emit electrical sparks, then, electric sparks started flowing towards the sword, electricity surrounded the sword and Dyson raised it up, then, in a swift flash, swung his sword at the statue of the wolf. A bolt of lightning struck from the tip cracking the wolf statue with a heavy slash.

"So, friend Moon, it is likely that the only power you will be able to channel to Saphria is your photokinesis, maybe your hydrokinesis as well, but I highly doubt that you could channel your geokinesis towards a sword, considering how we've seen PSI Earth function now."

Moon nodded, he gripped Saphria, then, she started talking to him again.

"_Master Wolfe, to channel your powers towards me, concentrate on your ability, you'll feel the type of energy start to go towards me, when you do, you'll need to make a slash, I will unleash the power from there." _

Moon concentrated on PSI Rollin, he could feel energy slowly moving away from his body, Saphria started glowing and flashing multiple colors. He made a diagonal slash with Saphria, a sideways wave of light shot from the sword, it sliced through the statue of the wolf with ease.

"Excellent work friend Moon...you seem to get the hang of things really easily."

Moon nodded, by now, the sun had risen up and over the hill tops. Petra had also risen and was now outside with the rest of them.

"So, you were training Moon?" she asked. "In the art of swordsmanship, it is quite useful, considering Saphria may be an ancient Dalaamesse weapon."

"Do you still have your crossbow princess?"

"Of course."

"Alright then." Moon said. "Let's wake up the others and let's get going."

* * *

**(Tenda Village)**

The five appeared back by the caved in village. They walked around the village for a while, on the request of the leader, they agreed to stay clear while he read the Overcoming Shyness book to the tribe. In their waiting times, Petra and Sarah sat down near a pool of pink liquid that they'd seen in Saturn Valley, Dyson took the time to polish the Sword of Kings, and Erick worked on a broken harmonica-like object he had found in the Stonehenge base.

Moon meanwhile, was reading through the Demonrift, he had found it to be quite interesting, all of the information on his world was surely spectacular. But he wasn't curious about that now, instead, he wanted to look at some of the other realms of the multiverse. Probably out his curiosity, he flipped towards one the more complicated sections of Nintendo's multiverse.

_The Locus Cluster (Metroid, F-Zero, and Star Fox)_

Not the most remembered Nintendo games, but some of the more favored amongst veterans.

_General Information_

_This is a strange cluster, to say the least. For one, despite being called a "cluster" it really barely qualifies as one. It has one absolutely massive universe, and a few minute ones in orbit of it. This one cluster is so big, it takes up 50% of the NIntendo Multiverse. This central universe takes up 90% of the whole cluster, with the other 10% being divided unevenly among the others. It could arguably be divided into two universes, due to how different the two areas of the main universe are. Yet all scans show them to be the same universe. It is quite strange, really, how such different areas can be in the same universe._

_As a result of being basically one Universe, crossovers almost never happen. It has only happened once, with a rogue universe I've personally nicknamed Atlas. Atlas broke free from it's home cluster, from a far away multiverse, and eventually hit the smaller universe, consuming it whole. It may be worth mentioning that the universe was from what most call the "furry" side. What makes this so extraordinary is that this universe made it so far from it's home cluster, it's at a point where it can never return. It is the only documented case of this occurring from so far away from it;s home cluster._

_Politics vary widely in the main universe, with the side universes mirroring this. One thing for certain is that there are Bounty Hunters everywhere, though most cary the scummy connotations of that job, and actually live up to them. There are a few that don't however, and they will probably be mentioned at some point after this writing. One side of the main universe has grown so large in power that some bread & circuses are required to keep the peace, F-Zero races in this case. Meanwhile, they rely on hired guns to do the work they should be sending armies to take care of. The "furry" side is new to space travel, and as such, any planets there are in the sector are like countries, squabbling over minor issues, only stopping when Corneria intervenes by sending Team Star Fox, which is more or less there special ops team at this point in time._

'Yeah that seemed about right.' Moon thought to himself. 'In a universe overrun by being mostly empty space with a mixture of human-like animals and bounty hunters, this cluster was bound to have numerous issues.' He flipped to this cluster specifically because there was one fighter who peaked his interest more than anyone else. Flipping past the likes of Samus Aran, Douglas Jay Falcon, Fox McCloud and several others. He finally came to a rest on the image of a giant purple dragon. It had piercing yellow eyes and the look of death in its eyes.

_065: Ridley, The Cunning God of Death._

_Ridley is a fully matured instance of Geoform 187. As such, he is 9' 2" and very deadly, as he has melded a hunting knife to his whip-like tail's tip after losing the original tail in his first defeat. He is fully capable of speaking both English and Space Pirate, usually speaking the latter of the two. He is also capable of inner-atmospheric flight, thanks to his large wings. Ridley is usually found deep in Norfair, plotting against all those who oppose Space Pirate rule. He also created his own worst enemy in Samus Aran, as he killed her parents during a raid on colony 2-KL. She has "killed" him multiple times, but he has always cheated death, ready to fight the next time they meet. He wishes for nothing more than the end of Humanity, the ones responsible for the death of his species, the group we know as Geoform 187._

Well, what else was there to really say about Ridley? If he was being honest, this was actually pretty useful, learning about each of the smash competitors was very interesting.

One of the small, green Tenda creatures approached him, it was holding a teacup in one of its very thin twig-like arms. When the Tenda got to him, it held the cup out to him.

"Chief Tenda would like to thank you for helping us overcome our shyness." it said. "He has asked that to approach him when you finish drinking this tea so he could give a gift to you."

"Okay, sure." Moon said, taking the teacup from the creature. The small creature walked away, Moon shook his head to himself before raising the cup to his lips. Just like with the coffee in Saturn Valley, he was suddenly flung back in front of the multi-colored wall. Words started to scroll back as a female voice read them out him.

"_Like a great tapestry, vertical and horizontal threads have met and become intertwined, creating a beautiful image."_

"Yeah...sure." Moon thought.

"_You may have cursed this never-ending journey. You have known injury, defeat, and even loss, you have struggled to reach this place. Your in-born intelligence and courage have helped bring you here. You have believed in your friends, and as a group, you have supported each other."_

That was true. For the first time in his life, he had friends helping him through his problems, throughout the adventure, he had slowly began to change, a once hopeless boy who had been on the brink of emotional collapse had slowly begun to change. Thanks to Sarah, Erick, Dyson, and even Petra.

"_Moon? Have you ever stopped to consider how much your power has grown? Back in Onett, you could barely fend off basic threats...now, you could fell enemies in Onett and Twoson with just one blow!" _

Thinking back, it was true, as time went on, he had slowly become more and more powerful, downing each threat one at a time was certainly a long hardship, it was crazy to think that this had been happening for nearly three months.

"_Moon, as you certainly know, you cannot turn back now. Giygas, the arch fiend of the universe, is growing frightened of you, Sarah, and your powers. He is searching for ways to end your journey as soon as possible."_

Moon chuckled to himself. As if Giygas wasn't already trying to stop him.

"_From here, the challenge grows and your adventure will take you beyond anything you ever imagined. You and Sarah are drawing near to your fate with Giygas. Remember, when you are suffering hardships, your enemy is also struggling."_

It was then that Moon realized he recognized who was talking to him.

"_When this cup of tea is finished, your adventure will continue. Your destiny pulls you in the right direction. Believe in yourself and Sarah, and press forward."_

A slight pause before the voice spoke again.

"_Moon, Sarah, Erick, and Dyson. I wish you the best of luck."_

"Paula?" Moon called towards the wall with a hint of uncertainty.

Suddenly, the girl appeared in front of him, she looked embarrassed and afraid.

"H-How'd you know?" she asked quietly.

"Lucky guess." Moon said, shrugging slightly.

"Um...Moon...there's uh...there's something that...I need to tell you." Paula said, looking down at her feet.

"Paula...you don't need to tell me anything...in fact...whatever it is, if it has something to do with my adventure, I don't wish to hear about it."

"But Moon...it's really impor-"

"I don't want to hear it." Moon said calmly. "You've done enough for us Paula, I wish to let the rest of the adventure unfold for us, face whatever hardships may come our way, I don't want you telling me ahead of time."

"But Moon...pleas-" Moon vanished out of sight, then, Dark Moon appeared in front of her and swiftly grabbed her arm.

"Nice try Paula." he hissed. "I'm not going down that easily...you can't save them, you can't stop their inevitable defeat...one by one...you'll all perish...it's only a matter of time." Then he threw her upwards and out of the mindscape. His cold laughter filled the room.

Moon snapped himself back to reality, he was now in front of the chief tenda who handed him a bowl of strong smelling soup.

"I know its smell is a bit strong to humans." the creature said calmly. "But it is a favorite amongst the Tenda living in the Lost Underworld, giving this to them will give you access to their village. Also here, take this, it's a bag of Dragonite."

"Thanks Mr. Tenda Chief." Moon said, taking the bag from him.

Moon placed the soup and the Demonrift in his backpack, then walked over to his friends, handing the bag of Dragonite to Sarah. Then, the five of them walked over to a Tenda near a rock that was moved slightly so that they could see a hole below it.

"Now that I am no longer shy. I can show you my super strength." the small creature said. It placed its twig arms under the boulder, then threw it up into the air. It landed on the ground near the hole with a loud thud.

"I have literally never seen such bullcrap before in my life." Erick muttered.

"Whatever," Sarah said. "We've seen enough stupid logic just let this one slide."

Below the rock was a hole with a rope attached to it. The five climbed down the rope and into another cave. There was a rock shaped like a monk almost, when they started to walk past it Moon and Sarah heard a voice.

(Chosen heroes...halt your progress at once!)

Both of them stopped suddenly, they turned to face each other, then back at the rock.

(Moon and Sarah...please listen to what I have to say.) the rock said. (Your PSI is translating this ancient message that has been broadcasting in the silent Tenda Language...there is another rock just like me in the Lost Underworld Tenda Village...it remains essential that you talk to it!)

Moon and Sarah looked at each other, both questioning whether or not they had heard what they heard.

"Hey are you two alright?" Erick asked, snapping both of them back to reality.

"Um...yeah...yeah we're good." Sarah said.

They entered into a brightly lit cave system. "According to the Tenda Tribe." Dyson said, as they walked through the cave system. "This place is called the Lumine Hall, the Tenda sealed it off because a bunch of evil spirits started attacking them. The Lumine Hall has supposed mystical properties...one that only certain people can control. Sounds like another sanctuary!"

Saphria suddenly began to glow very brightly.

"_Danger! Master Wolfe, Princess Petra's right!"_

Moon quickly turned around. "PK Hydro!" he shouted. Petra quickly jumped to the side as a blast of water shot at a smiling orb that had floated up behind her. The water blast forced it into the wall where it exploded on contact. It it's clearance, there was another broken gun, it looked like a large antenna. Erick picked it up and let out a gasp.

"Thi-this is a...Gaia Beam." he said in disbelief. "That's the strongest laser there is, and...it doesn't look like its that hard to fix either. With a bit of work, I could maybe get it working again."

Moon and Sarah suddenly blinked. They found themselves in front of some weird cave. Moon looked down at his hands. They were the shadow color that he normally saw for corruption and Dark Moon. He turned to Sarah, she looked horrified.

"_Come to me my children...you both are so close."_

The two of them walked forward, they walked down a large, spinning path that looked an awful lot like an intestine. Then they approached a large circle, both of their faces shone on it.

"_Moon...Sarah...I'm...so...happy. Look at the two of you, my precious children...my how the two of you have grown...you're both so...powerful...my precious children...once so weak minded and powerless...now unstoppable weapons...come to me...my children...you both are so close...just a little while longer...and I'll be able to hold you two in my arms...come to me...my children."_

They both blinked back to reality. They were now in a small pathway corridor, there was a present box at the end of it. Dyson opened it curiously, inside, there was a helmet made of a shining silver. Dyson picked it up and examined it carefully.

"Interesting, if I'm not mistaken...this is...the Diadem of Kings." he placed it on his head.

"Come on...why is it that you get all the cool equipment?" Erick groaned, "Meanwhile, we only get pendants, coins, and bracelets...speaking of which, how come you and Moon get swords?"

"Why are you complaining? You've got a gun!" Petra said.

"But it's a laser gun!"

"I've gotta use a fucking frying pan!" Sarah snapped.

"At least you have magic!"

Dyson turned to Moon, who looked just as confused as he was. "When did this suddenly turn into a fight about who gets what?"

"It's an RPG," Moon said, shrugging slightly. "You constantly fight over the equipment."

"These are confusing times Friend Moon."

Everyone eventually stopped bickering and they continued onwards through the hall. They eventually came to a halt near a split path. Moon looked down one path, he could see a dead end coming into view, he looked down the other path, he could sense immense power, and some dark energy coming from the area.

"_Danger! Master Wolfe!"_

In a flash of bright, white light, a weird object creature looked at them. It was mostly a three dimensional figure made up of rectangular prisms. It's eyes were blood red as it looked at them.

"Welcome, Moon, Sarah, Erick, Dyson...and I guess Petra." it hissed in a cold voice. "You finally got here, this is the seventh your sanctuary location! But it's mine now! Take it from me...if you dare!"

It launched off an electrical shock attack. Several thunderbolts struck at the five heroes, who all scattered in different directions to avoid it.

Moon quickly drew out Saphria and teleported behind the weird Electro Specter and slashed at it, the sword made a small cut in the behind of the creature, who let off a screech and swung it's hammer like arms at him. He quickly braced Saphria, and blocked the attack, then, remembering his training, warp countered.

Erick charged a shot with his laser and fired the explosion force knocked the Specter into the wall, where Sarah unleashed an omega level fire at the enemy. The creature hissed in greater pain. It got up, and slammed it's hammer-like arms into the ground, an earthquake shockwave shot through the ground, knocking Moon and Erick off their footing.

Dyson made a slash at the creature using the Sword of Kings, the creature suddenly became encased in Ice from the slash,

"Hey, Erick!" Petra called. "Throw a stick of dynamite in the air!"

Erick nodded and lit a stick before tossing it up. Petra quickly launched an arrow at it, the arrow struck through the explosive before sticking to the ice prison that the specter was trapped in. The stick then exploded, launching it back into the wall. Moon then launched a wave of light at the enemy causing a light slash to hit it square.

The creature fell back, then, it got up, and quickly launched more lightning at the five friends. Sarah quickly took the bolts herself, before the Franklin badge reflected backwards. Several knight statues then formed in a bright topaz color, they launched towards the specter and slashed at it.

"PK Rollin Ω!"

"PK Love!"

The two bright beams of light merged together creating a powerful blast of light, the creature was vaporized on the spot and left the path open.

Moon and Sarah were suddenly flung back into that cave, near the machine that showed both their faces. The cold voice still rang through their head.

"_My children...how you've grown. I'm...so...proud...of you...Moon...Sarah...I'm so...happy. You both are so close to meeting your destiny...I'm so...happy."_

They both just stood there in silence.

"_What's wrong...my children?...I know you can hear me...You must be so confused and afraid...don't worry...pretty soon, we'll be together...there will be no one with you...no one to protect you...no one but me...and the two of you...you'll make the perfect little conquerors, nothing can stop me...nothing can stop you...My children...come to me."_

They were both snapped back to reality. They were now in a subset cave with bright, yellow lights making up a dark purple wall. Erick, Dyson, and Petra were all looking at them.

"Are...are the two of you okay?" Petra asked. "You've been spaced out for a while."

"Yeah...we're good." Moon said.

"Okay then, Friend Moon, this is the Lumine Hall, it's a special place where lights of many different patterns spell words on the wall...according to an ancient Tenda legend, they could even project the thoughts of special people."

The five looked at the wall, suddenly, yellow dots began to spell something out.

_I am Sarah…_

_It's been a long road for all of us getting here…_

_Soon we'll be…_

_Soon we'll be…_

_What will happen to all of us? _

_What does it all mean? _

_For us? _

_For our friends? _

_For our future?_

_I love Moon...nothing will ever change that._

_I promised Olive that I'd take care of him…_

_What does our future hold? _

_With Giygas?_

_We are his children._

Erick, Dyson and Petra looked at Sarah, who had gone very red and looked terrified, with puzzled expressions on their faces words kept spelling out though.

_I am Moon…_

_The truth has never before been so clear_

_Our future...it holds something we could never comprehend._

_We were created...to fulfill a purpose._

_We are Giygas' children? _

_Something doesn't add up…_

_Paula wanted to tell me something? _

_I wonder if…_

_Does she know?_

_I love Sarah...she's the greatest thing to ever happen to me!_

_I'm hungry...I could really go for some cake._

_I miss Olive...I just can't believe…_

_Why?_

_Why her? _

_What did she ever do to you Pokey?_

_Pokey isn't under corruption like me and Sarah...he isn't under his influence_

_He did that...on his own will…_

_He...killed her_

_It's my fault…_

_I dragged her into this mess_

_Now she's...dead._

All heads turned to face Moon, who was now in tears as the words kept on going.

_Why do I keep doing this? _

_What kind of...what kind of hero am I?_

_Olive...why? _

_What type of adventure is this? _

_All the signs...all the symbols?_

_The visions?_

_The Sword of Darkness? _

_The Demonrift? _

_What Dark Moon has said?_

_I am Giygas' son…_

_I am his successor…_

_How can I call myself a hero? _

_Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo_

_Ninten, Ana, Loid, and Teddy_

_Lucas, Kumatora, Duster, Boney, and Salsa_

_Erick, Dyson, and Petra, _

_Sapphire, Willow, Anthony and Noct._

_They're all heroes_

_But this adventure…_

_It's turning Sarah and I into…_

Moon quickly shook his head, in a sort of panic.

_No! _

_This...this isn't right!_

_I can't continue…_

_But I have to, Olive would want me to…_

_The future is uncertain…_

_The children of Giygas…_

_We keep walking closer and closer to him…_

_But...I...I can't just...stop…_

_I've...I've got choices to make…_

_Is...Is now the time? _

_Do I ask Sarah to...ma-_

Moon went bright red and shook his head again.

_Do I ask Sarah to...make me a cake?_

He mentally facepalmed in his head. That was probably the stupidest save he'd ever come up with.

_No...that was a stupid thought…_

_I...I love you Sarah...you make me feel all happy inside…_

The letters stopped flowing from the screen. A soothing melody rang through the ears of the five friends. Moon and Sarah suddenly saw their fathers holding them.

"_How very strange? They both don't seem to want to be separated."_

The vision then closed on the Demonrift, the blue hand retaking it's place.

"_Moon Wolfe, Sarah Polestar, the Children of Giygas, the most unstable and dangerous elements ever created...what the absolute hell was she thinking? Granting Paula's wish? But not monitoring it? I know it's illegal...I know it's dangerous...but I have to do something about this...It's the only way to prevent the destruction of the multiverse." _

They were both snapped back to reality. Erick, Dyson, and Petra were all looking at them.

"Moon...do...do you want to talk about what just happened?" Erick asked.

Moon shook his head. "No...Olive's death has just left me...in a funk...I'm fine."

The five turned to face the wall again. This time however, instead of light showing more of Moon and Sarah's thoughts, something rather strange happened.

At first, they thought it was a reflection, but upon closer inspection it was something strange. In front of them, stood exact look-alikes of them...well...except Petra was missing. Moon thought they were Ness and friends at first, however, Paula didn't seem as shy and wasn't holding Ness' hand and Jeff had blue eyes,

Moon looked at Sarah, who was also looking at the four with interest. Only they seemed to notice the strange occurrence.

The boy who looked like Ness also seemed to take expression, he looked at them with a confused sort of look. His friends however, seemed unaware of their existence.

Moon took Sarah's hand, then the two of them kissed each other. They looked back at the boy, who looked relatively shocked at their actions. Moon then pointed at Sarah, and made a heart shape with his hands. The boy looked at the girl next to him, then turned back to them, his face was bright red, and he shook his head.

Moon and Sarah both gave amused smiles at his denial and nodded their heads. The boy promptly flipped them off, and mouthed a few things they didn't hear. His friends then turned to look at him. Then, the image faded from view.

"How much trouble are we going to get in for this stunt?" Sarah asked.

"No clue," Moon said. "But, my guess is, we'll probably cross paths again at some point."

The five friends left Lumine hall behind them, heading towards the Lost Underworld. After taking one look back at the sanctuary. They jumped down the hole, ready for whatever challenge was facing them next.

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter, I really wanted to expand on the Lumine Hall's thought sharing things, So I did one for Moon and Sarah, Sarah's for the standard one you get, and Moon to give a bit of development towards how his character will start to shift for Smash, Nice little nods to all of Earthbound currently, especially with one seemingly clever gag that I threw in at the end. I hope you enjoyed that. Leave a review letting me know what you think, and I'll see you next time.**

**Also, just for you Phoenix, I am not done with using your characters quite yet.  
**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: The Lost Underworld & Fire Spring.**

The five landed in a giant underground jungle like area. They all quickly looked around with interest.

"Holy smokes." Erick said in shock. "Marvelous, a whole natural jungle that just...exists underground! This is...absurd!"

"Well, we need to be looking for an enclosed Tenda Village." Moon said, looking around. "There is supposedly a statue of a monk there that has a message for me and Sarah."

"Well, let us make haste then." Dyson said. "Onwards!" Moon and Sarah started walking through the area, Petra promptly held Dyson and Erick back.

"What's up?" Erick asked.

"Are we really going to ignore what we just saw?" Petra asked. "I get that it was accidental, but aren't you concerned about the fact that Moon and Sarah are Giygas' children?"

Both boys looked at each other, neither of them were sure how they wanted to handle this situation.

"Well...I will admit...it is concerning." Erick said, "But...what can we really do about it? I mean, they are our friends...and they've been trying to fight off all of Giygas' attacks on them, their Dark Sides are their connection to him. It's not like they are evil...they've been resenting his attacks all the time."

"True...but we've seen that Friend Moon is starting to have his doubts...the death of Miss Olive has certainly shaken him."

"Okay...but...I've been with them for a long time." Erick said. "Doubt is a common thing from him, he acts on instincts, He just GAVE his dark side control the second Sarah got kidnapped in Fourside. If anything, his doubts have only made him stronger. Remember what Sarah said, he wasn't the way he is now with their relationship, he doubted his every action with her originally."

"True...but Friend Moon has always seemed confident in our abilities to take out Giygas, the only time he showed concern was after Dark Moon had been in control."

"Loss is not an easy thing to deal with." Petra said. "It is likely that we see a shift in the way his powers function...sadness and PSI powers don't mix very well...so maybe-" she was cut off my a giant war cry shaking the ground.

"GRRRRROOOAAAAR!"

They rounded a corner that was a large rock wall and saw the corpse of a giant purple dinosaur on the ground. It leaked out a black ooze from several cuts on its scaly body and looked like it had been burnt and frozen.

Moon and Sarah walked around from the other side of the corpse, Saphria was dripping a black ooze and they both looked like they had been struck with something sharp, they also had burn marks on themselves.

"Where the hell were you guys?" Sarah snapped at them.

"We wer-"

"It doesn't matter where they were Sarah." Moon interrupted. "Remain calm."

Erick examined the corpse. "This...this is a chomposaur!" he exclaimed. "They...they're supposed to be extinct, they were one of the most ferocious dinosaurs from the Jurassic Period! And you two just…killed one!"

"Well...it did attack us." Sarah explained.

"Forget that!" Erick snapped at her. "This is a massive discovery...There are probably more of these around here...This is amazing! I could examine their behavioral movements...observe their breeding patterns...We could be famous for showing the world this type of thing! So many possibilities, we could open a theme park!"

"Of all the fucking movies in the world you're telling me you haven't seen Jurrasic Park?" Moon asked.

Out of nowhere, a box fell down from the sky, it landed in front of Sarah. Curiously she picked the box up and shook it. Something klanged around inside, she opened the box, and inside, there was a frying pan made out of what looked to be amethyst. Petra let out a gasp of shock before she could pick it up.

"Holy shit!" She said in wonder. "Tha-that can't be!." the four of them looked at her, she seemed to be trying to piece something together, after a while, she clapped her hands together. "Can you guys simply, put down your weapons."

Confused by the request, the four each placed down their weapons. Saphria, the purple frying pan, the Gaia Beam, and the Sword of Kings. Petra swept over each of them, carefully observing each of them.

"Of course, I know about the Sword of Kings…" she whispered quietly. "But...there's no way that…all of them just...I can't believe they're real!"

"I think your wife has lost it. Maybe that liquid they were in at Stonehenge's base sent her south." Moon said. Dyson smacked him over the head.

"I'll be damned." Petra said after a moment. She turned back to the four of them, "Y-y-you all...you each...have the weapons of Earth!"

Moon, Sarah, and Erick turned their heads towards Dyson. To their shock, he looked just as confused as they were.

"The...what now?" he asked.

"Of course." Petra sighed. "Moon, you know the tale behind the Sword of Kings and the counter sword right?" Moon nodded. "Well, I was back in Pink Cloud before that stupid ass pig kid kidnapped me, and I found an ancient writing that continues the story."

"I'm sorry, you somehow found a never before documented ancient writing on a floating island?" Erick asked.

"Shut up." the princess snapped. "Anyway, while it is true that Saphria and the Sword of Kings were forged for two brothers, this ancient writing offered something a bit more in depth. Apparently, long ago, four weapons were forged for ancient heroes who fought off the first invasion of Evil. They came to be called "The Weapons of Life...or maybe Earth, the ancient language translation was a bit faulty."

"Okay...what does this have to do with us princess?" Erick asked.

"Well, the weapons were forged like this, the Sword of Kings, otherwise known as Luminere, the Sword of Light, Saphria, the Sword of Darkness, Gaia, the Beam of Earth, and Freya, the Pan of Love."

"Explain how Darkness has anything to do with life." Sarah asked.

"Well, think of it as the weapons of creation, Light and Dark coexist with each other, think of it as like the Yin-Yang, Earth gives us a place to live, and of course Love is something no human can be complete without."

The weapons on the ground also had something a bit peculiar. On each of the weapons, there was a little symbol. On Saphria, a little pommel had a small object on it, it was a wolf. In the center of Freya's pan and back of pan, there was a shining blue star. The Gaia beam's laser point was a small sphere detailed to look like a globe. Lastly, Luminere's pommel was a small topper of the sun.

"Okay, so what's the deal with you and wolves?" Erick asked Moon.

"What's wrong with wolves?" Moon asked. "They are interesting creatures, They stand on loyalty, but they are also really fierce and dangerous...plus my last name is Wolfe."

"That's not really a good explanation."

"Shut up Dyson." Sarah snapped.

"Hey!"

"Huh? Did you say something?" Erick asked Petra.

"No why?" the Princess asked, shaking her head.

"Hey! You guys!" They turned around, they were met with a giant wooden fenced in village. There were a bunch of Tenda people looking at them in shock.

"Hey...You five!" the Tenda said. "How did you get into our Dinosaur cage?"

"Aren't you guys the one in cage?" Erick asked.

"No no, we just enclosed our village off...is that Tendarukt that I smell?"

Moon took out the weird soup that the Chief Tenda had given him.

"It is! I knew that was Tendarukt, please, come into our village, it's not safe at the moment! It's nearly night time...that's when the ego orbs come out!"

"The...what?" Petra asked.

Suddenly, a large, light brown giant boluder with a stupid face floated up to them.

"Hey Friend Moon...it's you!" Moon slapped Dyson over the head.

The five quickly ran into the village, the orb stopped at the gate, then, it turned around, and floated away.

"Phew, that was close." the Tenda said. "Please, give me the Tendarukt, and I'll allow you to stay here in the village for the night."

Moon handed the Tenda the Tendarukt and the little green creature walked off, leaving them in the center of the village. There was a small hut that had another Tenda outside, it motioned to them for them over.

"In hut, I have inn, I charge you a hundred per person...is that okay?"

"Uh, sure." Moon pulled out five hundred dollars from his backpack and handed it to the Tenda.

"Thank you, enjoy your stay."

* * *

**(Later that night)**

Moon found himself in a field of yellow sunflowers...he walked through it curiously, then he bumped into Olive.

"MOON!"

"Olive...please...I didn't want you to...I'm...I'm sorry!"

"You stupid idiot!...what the hell is wrong with you!...Why didn't you do something!"

"I'M SORRY OLIVE! I'M SORRY!"

"You fool! You think someone would just WANT that? You call yourself a hero? What type of hero just let's a friend of theirs DIE?"

"I-I-I'm sorry! Olive I'm sorry!"

"That's all it ever is with you! "I'm SoRrY i'M sOrRy!" You say that to everything when you do something wrong! Words cannot begin to describe how PISSED OFF I am with you!"

"O-Oli-Olive...I didn't...I didn't want you to...to die."

"Then why did you stand there and do NOTHING?" she shouted. "You could've saved me and Sarah, instead, you stand there like an idiot! Are you a hero or not?"

"I-I'm...I am...I am a hero!"

"NO! You aren't!" Olive shouted. "You aren't a hero! You couldn't save me, someone close to you! Instead, you stood there and watched me DIE! A hero would've stepped in and tried to save me and Sarah. You aren't a hero! You're a monster!"

Moon jolted upright in the little Tenda hut, he was shaking and sweating, and then he started to silently cry.

"What's the point in sleeping at this point?" he asked himself, the last two nights had been nothing but nightmares, repeats of Olive dying, cold and evil laughter, darkness, it was horrible. He got up from his spot next to Sarah and walked over to his backpack. He simply sighed as he fished through his backpack, he finally withdrew the Sound stone from his backpack. He gathered his thoughts and touched the stone to his forehead. A soothing lullaby melody started to play for him, calming him and making him relax, it took his mind off of Olive, and he was grateful for that. After the melody came to a rest, he placed the stone in his hoodie pocket. It just seemed like since he was using it all the time to take his mind off of her, it would be best to keep it close.

"_Master Wolfe...I can sense that something is troubling you...what is it?"_

Great, now the book was talking to him again. "It's...it's just that...how do I call myself a hero? Everyone else has done so much to show their heroism, their worth, almost all of the smash competitors are heroes, but I'm the son of Giygas...how can I call myself a hero.

"_Master Wolfe...open me, I wish to show you something."_

Moon pulled the Demonrift out of his backpack and opened it to a blank page in the back. He took out a pen, but before he could write anything down, words started to appear.

_So, you think you don't deserve the title of "Hero?" Master Wolfe, you may be the son of the greatest villain in the Nintendo multiverse and sure, while you aren't perfect, you've never had anything that outright makes you a villain...besides, not everyone is who they seem in this multiverse...some of these so called "Heroes" have probably lost their qualifications of hero status._

Not everyone was who they seemed? Heroes losing their hero status? This was news to Moon, sure, he had his suspicions about Palutena, but that came off of his hatred for her character, but the others? That seemed a little far fetched. He flipped through the book coming to a rest on the Tribus cluster. The universe that consisted of the Legend of Zelda, a game with a seemingly complex lore and timeline.

Here, according to the Demonrift, there were only three worlds in the cluster. It used to be one world, however, an incident with the Ocarina of time tore the universe in three. hence the name Tribus, World Courage, which took the place of Breath of The Wild and sought to change with the modern games, World Patience for the Ocarina of Time, and World Curiosity for Windwaker. On the front page of the chapter, there was a picture with six "people." You of course, had the three Links, Zelda, Sheik, and Ganondorf.

"Whoever took this photo must've had a hard time getting them together." Moon thought to himself. He flipped past that, to the first image, which was, of course, Breath of the Wild Link.

_003 King Link IX, King of Hyrule & Knight of Courage._

_The immortal king of Hyrule, Link is one of the most powerful warriors in the multiverse, up there with Meta Knight and Sheik. The Triforce of Courage gives him the ability to use any weapon without any prior knowledge. However, he has two major weaknesses that stop him from being extremely powerful. One is that just because he is immortal, doesn't mean he can't "die". The Roman numerals actually signify which resurrection he is on. Only the spirit of the Hero may live on, meaning that each Link is technically a different person than, say, The Legendary Hero, or the Hero of Skyloft. He can access their memories regardless. Secondly, whenever he is resurrected, he loses memory of his past life. However this amnesia can be overcome somewhat easily, especially if Zelda is nearby, given time. Because his weaknesses have been mostly overcome, I suggest all forces handle him with extreme caution. He even wields the dangerous Master Sword & Hylian Shield. _

Well, that was a bust, Link certainly still maintained his own hero status according to this. He flipped to the next page, which was Sheik, he promptly skipped over her simply because, and moved onto Zelda. Pictured was her Link Between Worlds style, however she was still listed as the Zelda from World Courage.

_017 Queen Zelda Hyrule IX,_

_Queen Zelda, like her husband, is immortal, in the exact same way that link is, with the exact same ability to peer into the lives of past Zeldas, so long as they are from the same timeline. Unlike her husband, she is both a goddess and has access to magic. However, her life is tied to Link's. If Link dies, she will also die and promptly be resurrected, and vice-versa. As a result, she, just like Link, is on her eighth life. She is also an alarmingly clever general, as the Triforce of Wisdom lets her see through enemy strategies, The Triforce of Wisdom is an extremely powerful object. It rivals Skyworld's information as it stretches beyond the knowledge of the multiverse. She is almost always with Link, making the royals of Hyrule extremely dangerous. _

_Important: It is worth noting that Zelda and Link have a habit of dressing up as past incarnations of themselves during the tournament. It also may be of note that the Royals are followed by a friendly Rito jester named Kass. At this point, Master Hand has even given him clearance to go wherever he wishes, as he realizes Kass and his music are impossible to get rid of. _

Moon let out a sigh, so much for not everyone being who they seemed. If there were any people that he thought would have proven to him that not all smash competitors were the heroes they claimed to be, it'd be them.

As if it was reading his mind, the Demonrift started adding information below Zelda's biography.

_A nice thought Master Wolfe, but you probably chose the second worst cluster of heroism questioning, the first being your own. Link and Zelda have a clean plate, most barbaric actions that could call them in for questioning are considered normal within their home cluster._

Now that he was thinking about it, yeah, that was pretty stupid thinking on his part. Of course Link and Zelda would be clean.

"Moon?"

Sarah had apparently woken up and had come to look for him. She sat down next to him, with a look of concern on her face.

"Moon? What's wrong?"

"It's...it's nothing Sarah." he responded quietly. "I just...had a bad dream."

"Oh...I've uh...been having them as well. Just, darkness, cold laughter, loneliness."

"_Before I do something rash...You have yet to propose to her...correct Master Wolfe?"_

"Yeah." Moon said. "That's why I just decided I'd look through the Demonrift...I've been thinking about the whole...We're Children of Giygas...and...it just got me thinking about whether we could call ourselves heroes." Sarah looked horrified by his statement.

"Moon...don't say that." she said as tears started to develop in her eyes. "We are heroes...we have to be...we are chosen protectors who would cleanse the world of evil and get rid of Giygas. Please, don't think like that, you've already lost your happiness, and you've lost Olive, don't lose your beliefs and hopes too."

Moon bit down on his lip. "I'm...I'm not doing that Sarah." he said truthfully, "But, according to the Demonrift...apparently the so called "Heroes" of our favorite video games, aren't who they claim to be."

Sarah, understandably, was confused by his statement, having not grown up with videogames, she didn't know much about them. However, what shocked him was her attempt to try and understand what he was saying.

"So...there are people out there...in these clusters which are the worlds of video games in Super Smash Brothers...and they're claiming to be heroes that they aren't?"

Suddenly, the book began to write some text to them

_Kind of...if you don't mind having your childhood ruined, then I'd be happy to show you._

The two looked at each other. Moon shrugged, "What's the worst that could happen?" he asked. "It's probably just a bunch of things from those online theories...so it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world."

_You would think that...but the Super Smash Brothers run the multiverse like a sort of government, with the government comes laws for the entire Multiverse to abide by...I have provided a list of some of the most important laws below...but if you want the whole deal, flip back to the Imperium Cluster._

Below there was a short list of rules.

_The creation of another world within an already existing cluster is forbidden._

_No breaking time and space to change the past, let the timeline flow properly. This includes the following: Divine Intervention, Time Travel by any means, Traveling to another world to mess in their affairs. (There are exceptions, like if the entirety of the Multiverse is at stake)_

_No Trans-Cluster Communication (Except for Council members, and Smash invites)_

_No Trans-Cluster Relationships: Includes all of the following, Dating, Sending messages, marriage, having children, etc. _

"Wait, seriously? They had to make a law about Trans-cluster relationships? The Hell? Why?" Moon asked.

"Who cares...These are the legendary heroes of Smash." Sarah said. "I'm sure that they are all fine. This book was created by Villains as you said...so...how bad could it be?"

As it turned out, it was indeed very, very bad. The two of them scanned through several biographies that had been selected for some of Smash's most recognized heroes, they slowly learned more and more than they really should've known. After a while, Moon shook his head

"Well...that's...a problem." he said quietly. "Scandals, lies, blackmail, bribery, the entirety of this whole thing is corrupt as can be!"

"How could people do stuff like that...what happened to them? They're supposed to be heroes!"

_Not quite, Miss Polestar...while it is true that some of these "heroes" have become what they are now, a handful of competitors still keep their values and morale...just because a law is signed, doesn't mean everyone agreed. Here, just take a look at this, when a law is signed into effect, the head representative from each "Game" or Cluster is asked to sign off on it, if you look at this, take a look at the council votes, than signatures._

"Why are we even spending this time talking about Politics?" Sarah asked.

"It's late, we don't head towards that Fire Spring place until tomorrow, and we still need to talk to the rock, besides, it's not like there's that big of a rush to get there at the moment.

_Regardless of what you may think Master Wolfe, there are those who try to fight through the stupidity and corruption that this council invokes...unfortunately, it's not always that simple...for instance, take a look at this._

Below, several more words began to appear.

_In light of recent events, we of the council hereby dismiss all actions of member Ness, issues resulting in a Multiversal catastrophe, as well as the breaking of several laws, until the issue of the matter is resolved, we hereby agree to transfer all power to the hands of Skyworld._

"The fuck? Why?"

_Votes: (Due to an unfortunate schedule error, Pikachu and Jigglypuff were swapped out)_

_Votes of Yes: Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, Yoshi, and Palutena_

_Votes of No: Lucas, Kirby, Samus, Fox, Captain Falcon, and Link_

_Final Ruling: 6 to 5, Ness was cleared of all charges...however, this decision was overturned by Palutena._

"Perfect." Moon said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I think I've had enough of freaking Smash Bros Knowledge for one day...I'll be sure to throw an invite in the trash if I ever get one. No way in hell am I getting involved with them." He closed the Demonrift and placed it in his backpack.

Suddenly, they heard another war cry. Another Chomposaur appeared at the gate. It's large body overshadowed a terrified looking Mr. Saturn on the outside of the gate.

"Moon...please...we need to save that Mr. Saturn." Sarah turned to him giving him puppy dog eyes. "I know we are supposed to stay in the village...but...please...it needs help." Moon nodded and teleported outside the gate. He drew out Saphria and unleashed a slash at it's thick scaly skin. She deeply penetrated the part of the body and was followed up by having a giant rock slammed onto it's head. The Chomposaur fell to the ground, Moon then quickly picked up the Mr. Saturn, and teleported back to Sarah.

Up close now, they could see that this particular Mr. Saturn was a bit different. Unlike the normal Mr. Saturns which had black pupil eye and a red bow, this one had blue eyes like the two of them, and it wore a green bow in it's one strand of hair. It also had a few burn marks and cuts across its big nose and horseshoe round body. Moon used Lifeup and healed the poor creature. When it had fully healed it let out an adorable little coo.

"Boy so nice! Boing! Rescue me from scary monster! Sincerely thank you, I am."

"What...what happened to you?" Sarah asked. "Why aren't you in Saturn Valley with the rest of your friends?"

"Kidnapped, Was once in valley with friends. Scary fat kid took me to base in cave...fire...scary scary monster...dog of fire...torture me...I escape."

Sarah looked at Moon, he could sense that she was angry about this whole thing. Pokey had kidnapped a Mr. Saturn and brought it down here, where they had tortured it for some reason. If he was being honest, he needed a quick way to cheer her up.

"Well, I guess...until we have the time to go to Saturn Valley, I guess you can stay with us." Moon said to the Mr. Saturn. "You say that you've been to his base in a cave? Could you maybe show us later?"

The Mr. Saturn looked at him. Then it hopped up. "Yes help you I will. Thank you!" It walked over to Sarah and onto her lap. "I stay with girl...other Mr. Saturn's say girl nice." Sarah giggled and picked it up. She brushed her nose against its own and started making baby noises at it. Then they both heard a voice.

(You finally came, Moon, Sarah).

The two turned. Towards the edge of the village there was a monk statue similar to the one they had talked to in Lumine Hall. They walked over to it.

(You finally have come to talk to me). The rock said.

"Of course...we were told we had to."

(Thank you again. Listen Moon, Sarah. I'm going to tell you something very important. Are you ready?)

The two of them looked at each other, then at the rock. "Yes." they said together.

(You both are the chosens ones. Your destiny is not only yours...it's the destiny of the whole universe. There will be a time in which all of you in the universe will overlap each other. It's not necessary for the two of you to understand now. But just know that your destiny has been tampered with...several times to be exact. The prophecy that the two of you had been told is what fate has set up for you...but your destiny...is unknown.)

"Our fate is sealed...but our destiny isn't?" Moon asked.

(Indeed, in due time, you shall both learn the truth.) there was a moment of silence following this. (Of course, the adventure began long before...but...do you both remember "Lilliput Steps"? The second sanctuary?)

They both nodded in response to the question. How could they forget that place...it was the place they confessed their feelings to each other.

(That is one of the "Your Sanctuaries" Giant Step was the first, but it was where Moon was to learn his powers exclusively. The other seven Sanctuaries are spots which give the two of you power and allows you to realize all your skills. There was a monster that protected it. The monster was influenced by both Giygas and the power of the Sanctuary. You have of course, defeated all of those monsters, except one, you've united seven of the eight power spots in the world, the last one, the Fire Spring, is approaching.)

"What about the Sound Stone?" Sarah asked.

(When the Sound Stone that Moon has records the melodies of all eight power spots, the two of you will see "Your World")

"Our...world?"

(You both have a special world in your minds, called Magicant, when the Sound Stone records the final melody, both of your Magicants will merge...the two of you will finally become the closest you have ever been, You share a heart, You share a soul, and, after this, you shall share a mind. If you do not fail, you will have upset Giygas' plans…)

"Wait...so...when we become one...we upset Giygas' plans...we win?"

(The time will come for both of you...The time when the destiny of you and the whole universe will overlap...it is fast approaching...but...I will offer you my word. If the two of you have been preparing for a final battle...some sort of legendary showdown or...iconic video games ending death between you, your friends, and Giygas...you won't have one...not anymore at least.)

"Wait...so...all the more powerful we've been getting...it's not going to matter...because we won't fight Giygas?" Moon asked.

(The two of you will approach Giygas...but by then...he'll be at his weakest, he'll attempt to put up a fight of course...but he is too weak to become the monster that you once had to face...your journey may seem like it's almost over...and that's because it is...once the Truth has been unveiled to you, that's where you'll be stopped.)

Moon and Sarah both looked at each other, they had both been through so much together, and now...it was drawing close to the end?

(If Giygas is defeated and killed you both will have a decision to make...if he's not then…)

"Then what?"

(Well...that's up to the two of you to decide...your fate to make it to Giygas is preset...you will make it to Giygas. What happens when you do...that's up for you to decide. Your destiny has been tampered with...not once, not twice, but three times, the tampering has left your fate entirely dependent on what you will learn, you both will gain knowledge, from there, you both will have a decision to make...That is all I have to tell you, good luck.)

Moon and Sarah both let out a sigh, then, they turned to face each other, with the Mr. Saturn still in Sarah's arms.

"Hi Hi!" the Mr. Saturn said, breaking their awkward silence. "Heroes need guidance to Spring of Fire...take you there I shall. Boing!"

Both of them nodded. "You stay with the Mr. Saturn." Moon said to Sarah. "I'll go wake our friends up."

Sarah watched him go back into the end. Then, she turned the Mr. Saturn around to face her. Suddenly, she got a flash vision.

* * *

She appeared to be back in the house at Fiver, the same house where Olive had been. She saw herself sitting on a sofa in the living room. Quite strangely, the Mr. Saturn she was holding was next to her as well.

"Zoom! Momma Sarah! Me hungry."

She blinked in confusion, the Mr. Saturn had just referred to her as...mother? She watched herself face the Mr. Saturn. "I know Astro," she said quietly. "Moon will be back soon, then you can eat."

The Mr. Saturn jumped up and down. "Weeee!" it cheered.

The door near the living room swung open. Moon entered the room, he looked a bit disgruntled, but he did walked over and place a kiss on her cheek, then rubbed the Mr. Saturn's head, then, he sat down next to her.

"So...how'd it go?" she asked.

Moon rubbed his head. "Well, we have to go," he said. "The Demonrift is counting on me to go, plus, I want answers, it doesn't make any sense. What we learned, what we already knew, something doesn't add up. They're hiding something, I know they are, the answers to our existence, our destiny, it's all there, she is hiding something from everyone."

Sarah watched herself look at Moon worryingly. "Moon...why do you keep doing this?" she asked. "Giygas is dead, he's gone, we are the only part of him left! Yet, you still aren't satisfied with the result, you're still convinced that something went wrong!"

"Because something is wrong Sarah." Moon said. "We lost everything fighting Giygas, we aren't even living in our own world anymore! We lost so much...and yet, what we were told, not just by that rock, but by Giygas himself, and what those visions we got in the sanctuaries, something clearly happened and changed our fate. Sarah, I want answers, I want to know who is responsible for this, it wasn't Ness and Paula's intervention, something else happened, and I won't rest until I figure out who did it."

Sarah suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Paula looking at her.

"P-Paula?" she asked in shock.

The blonde gave her a weak smile in response. "Hey," she said quietly.

"How...how are you? How are you watching my vision?" Sarah asked.

Paula looked embarrassed by her question. Her face flushed red and she looked down at her feet. "A-Acc-According to Ness." she said. "B-Because I created you...I get to watch your adventure play out...I'm apparently allowed to interact with you during pauses in your adventure."

"So...you've been...watching us?"

"Y-Yeah, I...I know your future as well...b-but...I'm not allowed to share it with you."

"But...this is a future vision...this my future...with Moon, and that Mr. Saturn?"

"It's...um." Paula said, her face got more red, and then, tears started to develop in her eyes. "S-Sorry Sarah...I...I need to go." then she vanished and Sarah felt herself get flung upwards.

* * *

**(Tenda Village)**

Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo had walked through a destroyed Tenda Village by Deep Darkness, Apparently, their Pokey had beaten them their too. All of Deep Darkness was in flames, trees had been destroyed, animals were all killed, the land was pretty much in ruins, the same was said for Summers, Winters, and Scaraba as well. Now they were just making their way towards Fire Spring, hoping to catch up to the others before then.

"Thank god we got Apple Kid, Dr. Andonuts, and Giovanna out of there and to Saturn Valley." Jeff said quietly. "I can't even begin to imagine how Erick would've reacted we had to tell him she died because Moon only took Petra with the four of them."

Paula suddenly began to tug on Ness' shirt. She had been the most quiet since their walk, when Ness turned to face her he saw her on the brink of emotional collapse.

"Paula?" he asked. "Is...Is something wrong?"

"I...I just watched Sarah get a vision." she said, trying her hardest not to cry. "She...she wasn't really paying close attention to it...either that...or she just doesn't know what it means...but…"

"What?" Poo asked. "Paula...what happened in the vision?"

"They...They're going to learn." Paula cried. "Her and Moon...they're going to learn that we intervened at some point...I'm guessing that maybe we'll succeed at stopping them...but by then...it's going to be too late...they aren't even going to fight Giygas...apparently, when they make it to him, they're going to have a choice...I guess we have to stop them from making the wrong choice...b-but."

"Paula...look at me." Ness said, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "If we succeed, then the world will rewrite itself back to normal...it will be back to the way it should have been." Paula broke down at his statement and started crying.

"It's not like that Ness." she cried. "In that vision...Moon mentions that they lost everything, even if we stop them from losing or making the wrong choice...the world won't rewrite itself back to normal...everyone is going to stay dead! Ness, we have to go to Onett, we have to save Moon's family...they're the only ones left alive that are close to them."

Ness bowed his head at that. "Paula...we...we can't do that...Moon has to see his family in Onett when Darkness falls over it...our world's Pokey won't go after them until that happens. The only reason we saved the Stonehenge survivors was to make sure the phase distorter would be up and running for them...if Pokey had killed them, then we would've been softlocked. You said they aren't going to fight Giygas, which is why killing those that prayed for us isn't affecting their timeline...Paula...we can't save Moon's family early...he has to see them in Onett before going to Giygas."

The four sat down in Lumine Hall, Paula just kept crying as Ness held her.

* * *

**(Fire Spring)**

Moon, Sarah, Erick, Dyson, and Petra all arrived at the end of Fire Spring, after a rough walking through a maze like pattern of caves in a volcano heated area, during which, Dyson has found the Cloak of Kings, they finally arrived at the end of the path. The Green bowed, blue eyes Mr. Saturn started to shake as they approached the tunnel.

"Monster scary scary." it whimpered in Sarah's arms. "Dog of Magma, go hot hot hot, careful!"

_Danger! Master Wolfe!_

In a flash of bright white light, a dog of made of molten magma emerged in front of the five of them. Unlike every other sanctuary boss, this one had yellow eyes, which probably made sense since the outer portion of it was entirely red.

"Welcome, Moon, Sarah, Erick, Dyson." it blinked in confusion. "And...Petra...for some reason. Anyway, this is the eighth "Your Sanctuary." location...but it's mine now...take it from me...if you dare."

It opened its mouth unleashing a fireball at the five of them. Moon quickly launched off a PK Hydro extinguishing the magma ball into a cool rock of obsidian. The rock landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"I advise against using any physical weapons." Erick said quickly. "This dog is made of magma, any strike made with a melee weapon may result in a high burn."

Sarah let off a PK Starstorm sending meteors hurtling towards the dog. It tried to dodge out of the way, however, Dyson used a PSI Freeze to hold it in place. The meteors struck the statue and launched the dog into the wall. Erick then used a charged laser shot to push it further. Moon then launched a boulder over it, covering the dog and cementing it in the wall.

"Well...that was almost too easy." Petra said,

"So much for you doing anything, all you have are wooden arrows." Erick responded

Saphria suddenly began to glow, attached to Moon's back.

"_Master Wolfe, Danger!"_

He heard a crack coming from behind him where he had covered the dog with a rock. Then it shot out of its position in the wall, A rainbow color of lights shone as the dog transformed from magma to diamond. The rock kept flying into Moon who quickly teleported out of the way.

"Friend Erick this thing is made of Diamond...do you have anything of use."

"I have one multi-bottle rocket...its the strongest explosive around, next to a nuclear missile."

"Then let it rip." Sarah shouted.

Erick lit the explosive and fired it at the Diamondized dog. It exploded on contact and left a bit of dust in the faces. It cleared, the dog was still stand tall.

"Damn, Diamond has the most durability to take an explosive like that what the hell?" Sarah asked.

In a flash of pink light Moon appeared on top of the diamond dog, Saphria glowed brightly, he swung the sword at the dogs neck. The blade sliced through the diamond dog with ease leaving its diamond head limp to just fall to the ground. It's diamond body fell shortly after.

"The fact that a blade of sapphires can cleanly slice through diamond seems a bit cheesy don't you think...also...this boss had a second form...aren't those bosses supposed to be hard to beat?" Erick asked.

"Who knows." Moon responded. "Anyway, this is it." he said, looking at the cave, he could see a tiny volcano in the clearly with a small lava or magma trail leaking down it. "This is the last sanctuary location for me and Sarah. Once we collect this melody, we are going to see "Our World...from there...who knows what we'll have to do...but all we know is...after this, if we are successful, we win...there's nothing Giygas can do."

Out of nowhere, a stinging pain shot through his and Sarah's foreheads. They appeared back in front of the machine, both their faces imprinted on it. Then, the cold voice rang through their heads.

"_My children...you both are so close...just a little longer...and then...you'll learn...you'll become exactly what we need...it's only a matter of time. I'm...so...happy."_

They both were snapped back to reality, Moon withdrew the sound stone from his hoodie pocket as they entered into fire spring. A soothing melody began to play for the five of them, then, when it finished. The sound stone started to glow brightly, it flashed a bright blue and then a wave of energy shot through the air. A voice rang for Moon and Sarah, this time, it sounded like Buzz Buzz.

"_You did it...you both collected the eight sancturary locations...after three months, you finally did it...the end of your adventure is coming...just a little bit further...Moon...Sarah...you are the world's last hope...don't give up now." _

They both suddenly found themselves on a narrow pathway. They walked forward, pausing occasionally to look around as the completed melody from the eight sanctuaries rang through their ears. The path was the only thing around, everything else was nothing more than a void.

They continued down the path in silence...then...they approached Moon's house. They somehow walked through the door without even opening it, a young puppy ran around excitedly at the first floor.

They floated past that and up the staircase, at the top, they approached Moon's room, they floated through the door and, in the center of the room, were their parents. All four of them, with a baby cradle in front of them, they approached them, and inside, two babies, both with light blonde hair, wrapped in a bundle of purple and blue blankets and sapphire blue eyes.

Moon's mother spoke first. "Awe how cute...the two of them are so quiet together, it's like they're aware of each others existence...like they already know each other." Both babies slowly closed their eyes. "Now they're finally getting some rest...what do you think about their names?"

Sarah's mother spoke next. "Sarah...I think that's the perfect name for our little girl. What do you think honey?" The baby wrapped more on the purple side smiled.

"She smiled at the sound of her name...I think she likes it...Sarah it will be then." Mr. Polestar said, clapping his hands together. "What about your little boy?"

Moon's father cracked a grin. "Andrew?"

"How about Matthew?" Mr. Polestar said.

"James?" Mrs. Polestar asked.

Moon's mother frowned at their suggestions. "I don't think those names are suitable...if only there was some sort of sign." As if on cue, the baby boy rolled over to his side, his little right arm falling on top of the baby girl, revealing a scar in the shape of a crescent moon just below his wrist.

All the adults in the room looked at the scar, it was a decent size, taking up most of the wrist, they just looked at it, confused by its existence.

"That's odd, I don't remember him coming with a scar...it looks like...it's brand new." Moon's father said with a low voice.

"Moon...Hmmmm...I think Moon's the perfect name for him." his mother said. The baby smiled at that. "See, he smiled just at hearing his name! I think he likes it...Try putting that blue cap on him." Moon's father placed it down on the baby's head, as expected, the hat basically covered his head.

"Yeah it's too big...but it looks good on him."

"Let's just hope that King won't be jealous of the baby."

There was a bit of silence as the cradle rocked back and forth, both babies slept quietly, smiling.

"Let's celebrate with some cake," Moon's father said. "This calls for a celebration. These two will grow up to be hard workers, just like us."

"Don't you think it's a bit odd though?" Mr. Polestar asked after a moment of silence. "I mean...they were born at the exact same time on the exact same day...do you think there's some sort of deeper meaning behind this?"

"Who cares." Mrs. Polestar said. "I don't think they need to be rich or famous...we should want them to be a thoughtful, strong boy and girl."

"Agreed." the adults said in unison. All of a sudden, the two baby bottles on the shelf in the room began to wobble before moving slightly. They looked back at the two babies, both of whom had their right hands pointed in that direction.

"Odd...the baby bottles they pointed at seemed to move a little bit...Hmm...let's just let them rest...let's go have some cake." The four adults left the room, leaving Moon and Sarah looking at themselves as babies. A voice started to ring through their heads as a white portal opened behind the baby cradles.

"_You both may think that you only met just three months ago...but the truth is, you've known each other long before then...whether you realize it or not...both of you have met each other before, not just as babies, but as young children too. What you are about to witness is a recollection of a faithful moment that neither of you remembered. Once you have seen this memory you'll learn one of many truths. You both will soon reach a true understanding of what you mean to each other through this last trial, once you have reached that understanding you can finally face your Dark Sides together. From there, you're final adventure to Giygas to gain that last bit of knowledge will begin...keep strong you two...you're going to need it."_

Moon turned to face Sarah, he reached out and took her hand.

"This is it." he said. "We're almost there...are you ready?" he asked.

Sarah smiled and nodded, "Of course I'm ready...we've been through so much together...I'll always be by your side Moon...no matter what happens. The two then walked past their baby selves, unaware that the two babies had opened their eyes and taken notice to them. They set off through the portal...ready to finally see their world.

* * *

**(The Sea of Eden)**

Dark Moon and Dark Sarah both stood on a small island in the middle of a sea. Dark Sarah turned to face him.

"They're getting close my love." she hissed. "Let's just jump on them now...we can end this."

Dark Moon let out a sigh. "We've done what we could." he hissed. "But...Giygas has grown to weak and sick to fight them off...he can't become the embodiment of evil without killing himself. We will forever be a part of these two...but they'll live...they won't lose anymore."

"But...what about the decision?" Dark Sarah asked. "They could still…"

"That may be true my love. But...they won't make that decision, I'm highly confident in that." he let out a sigh a small crack started to develop on the island. Then Dark Sarah let out a fit of rage

"Stupid fucking pieces of shit." she hissed. "We had them! Right there we had them! Everything was going according to plan! Hell, she even made it fucking easier by hiring him to lay waste to this stupid ass world! But the second that Paula was threatened, it all went to shit. We had it right there and now I have to live in this bitch's brain for the rest of my fucking life."

A loud demonic screech suddenly emitted through the area. A streak of purple shot by the two of them in the Sea of Eden. Dark Moon suddenly cracked an evil smile.

"Not quite my love...Giygas may be out of commission...but...let's look towards the future, We need to train Moon and Sarah so that our capabilities rival even that of someone else...this battle isn't for their permanent control...it's to prepare them...we can still take over the Multiverse. But we're going to need help from an old ally."

Dark Sarah picked up on his cue from the streak of purple as another demonic screech came out of nowhere and flew past them. "No?!" she hissed in shock. "You don't mean? Him?"

Dark Moon nodded. "Yep...one of our oldest allies and easily one of the strongest...in due time they'll learn the truth...that'll turn them against the Multiverse...then we use the Rouge Alliance. It won't happen for a while...but it'll happen. It's only a matter of time. Then...we'll finally watch the Multiverse burn!"

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. So, a lot happened in this chapter, we got a look at Link and Zelda, who will be prominent characters in the Smash Bros Sequel...and we also got a look at what I'm going to do for Giygas.**

**Now, I get it, the fall of Giygas is unique, it's iconic, it's one of the greatest moments in Earthbound. But, if I'm being honest, if you didn't pick up on any cues from the last couple of chapters there is no way in hell that we can even have the iconic praying part. This idea of not having the Iconic Earthbound Ending has been my main goal from the beginning. If I'm being honest, the ending of this story may rub off as a bit...anti-climatic, I've wanted this ending from the very beginning of this story's writing and I'm not going to take the time and rework it. The ending is to set up for the sequel which is going straight into development after it.**

**Moon and Sarah's interaction with Giygas is going to be a bit...weird. No chaos, No eternal darkness, No embodiment of evil, No praying. It's just going to be, knowledge and lore, answers a few questions and opens some more. Sorry if this disappoints you, but it's what I want.**

**While we are on the topic of sequels, I think, if I can get it done, I may upload the prologue of the sequel before I post the final chapter of the story, plans are still up in the air, but if I can get it done, it will happen, that way when you finish this one, you can jump straight into the next one. If not then well...I guess follow me or something so you don't miss it.**

**Anyway, leave a review if you want, seriously, letting me know how you feel about the non-iconic Earthbound ending would be amazing, I'll see you all next time, when we explore Magicant.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Memories are made of Bliss**

Moon and Sarah suddenly found themselves in Sarah's bedroom. They looked around the room, wondering what was going on.

A young girl awoke in her bedroom. She looked around the all purple bedroom she had been in. She let out a silent sigh to herself. It was just another day of summer. She got up out of bed, brushed her golden hair, then tied a blue ribbon bow into it. She changed into a purple dress and put on a necklace with a metallic star on it before walking downstairs.

When she arrived in the kitchen, she saw her father, alongside another man, he had dark black hair and a mustache covering his lips. He wore a fedora and a big brown business suit.

"Thanks again for letting my son stay here for awhile, wife's out visiting her mother and I had to run to Threed for a business meeting." the man said. "I'll be back in three...maybe four days."

Her father nodded at the man. "Of course Mr. Wolfe, we'd be happy to keep your son for some time. He'll probably make good with our daughter and some of her playmates."

The man frowned at that. "Yeah...I should probably mention that my son is a bit...strange. He'll probably be really quiet and keep to himself...he usually doesn't like to be bothered...and his temper can be a bit much...if you leave him alone, he'll usually calm down within five minutes. I've told him to listen to what you say though...so he will listen to you if you call him in for dinner. Other than that, just...leave him alone to do his own thing...he likes it that way. We packed his Nintendo 3DS with him as well, so he'll have something else to do."

"Alright then...any allergies we should know about?"

"Nope...and uh...how much do I owe you?" the man asked, pulling out a wallet.

"Oh no no no," her father said, waving his hand. "No charge for this, it's what we do."

"Alright, thanks again Mr. Polestar." the man turned and walked out of the room. Her father then turned to face her, he gave her a smile upon seeing her in the room.

"Sarah, you're up...good. You're friends will be here soon, hurry up and eat so you can go play with them. We uh...we also have a guest staying with us for a few days."

The girl nodded and sat down at the table, she ate her pancakes and then got up and walked into the living room. On the right side of the room, three kids were sitting, playing with a bunch of building blocks. A girl with straight bubblegum pink hair and green eyes, named Mavis, a boy that wore a dark green shirt and shorts with amber eyes, named Oilver, and another boy with gray eyes and light brown hair named Scott.

On the opposite side of the room; however, there was another boy, he was sitting at one of the desk tables drawing something. The boy had short blond hair, wore a red hoodie and a blue baseball hat, and he also had sapphire blue eyes, just like her. Her hopes soared at the chance of meeting a new friend, she walked over to the boy and sat down in front of him. The boy didn't pay any attention to her, he just kept drawing.

"Hello." she said to the boy. "My name is Sarah."

The boy looked up from his drawing, after a moment of just looking at her, his eyes went back to his drawing.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Moon." the boy responded quietly. "Please go find something else to do, I'm not worth having fun with, I just ruin everything."

"Oh." Sarah responded with some disappointment. She stood up from the seat and walked over to her friends. Immediately, Oliver handed her a rectangular block.

"Hey Sarah." he said cheerfully, "We're making a large fort, come on, help us out."

The four of them built their block fort together, talking about stuff they had seen on TV and wondering what the next school year was going to be like. Eventually, their discussion reached the other boy.

"I mean...what's he doing?" Mavis asked, looking at the blond boy drawing his picture. "He's just been sitting there for two hours...drawing?"

"He probably feels left out." Scott said. "I mean...it's not like we've invited him over to play."

"Yeah...maybe we should." Oliver added.

Sarah stood up from the group and walked back over to the boy. She got back to him, this time, she saw more of what he was drawing. A greatly detailed blue and green sword with a dark wolf, and a red and black striped book. Then there was a drawing of what looked like him, only his skin was shadowy, he wore black clothing and had blood red eyes.

"Hey...Moon." she said sweetly. "My friends and I want you to help us finish our block fort."

The boy looked up from his drawing, then he shook his head.

"Come on...we want to play with you...don't just sit here alone and feeling left out...come play with us."

Moon stared at her, almost like he was questioning whether or not she was joking.

She extended a hand out to him. "Come on." she said. "It'll be fun."

Moon stood up and followed her over to where her friends were. She handed him the last block they needed to complete the fort. He placed it on top of two cylinders, the fort stood for a moment, then it collapsed.

Sarah, Oliver, Mavis, and Scott just looked at the now collapsed fort, when they turned their eyes back to Moon, he was in tears.

"I'm sorry." he cried. Without saying another word to any of them, he ran out of the room.

For the older Moon and Sarah who were watching, the memory faded to a black empty void as another voice spoke to time.

"_Do you remember this?"_ it asked. "_When you both were seven years old, this collection of memories took place over a couple of days in the Summer. It was here that the two of you experienced each other's presence again, as babies, you both threw a fit upon being separated, from the day you were born, there was always a special connection within both of you."_

The scene changed again. This time, it showed Moon in Sarah's bedroom, he was still crying. He was also clutching onto a stuffed black wolf. The door slowly creaked open and Sarah walked into the room. She carried a plate with a slice of chocolate cake and a glass of water with her. She walked over to where he was sitting and set the plate down.

"My mother said you liked cake...so...I just thought I'd bring you some."

"J-Just...go away." Moon sniffed. "I'm sorry I broke your hard work...I ruin everything...just...take your anger somewhere else...leave me alone to cry about my failure."

"Mad? Why would I be mad at you?" Sarah asked.

"I-I-I broke that fort that you and your friends spent hours working on...you worked so hard on it, and I just...destroyed it."

Sarah giggled at his response. "Have you ever played with blocks?" she asked. "You stack them, if they're uneven and unbalanced, they fall...that's how they work. We weren't mad at you. We just weren't expecting the blocks to fall."

"B-B-but."

"Hey...come on...I know you didn't mean to destroy it, there's no reason for you to cry, we still want to be your friends."

Moon rubbed his eyes with his hands. "T-thanks...thanks Sarah." the scene faded back to the black void.

"_See? In a time of uncomfort, Sarah came to your aid, she helped you reach an understanding that you didn't know about. Of course, you'd return the favor to her a few days later."_

The void landscape changed to the front yard of Polestar Preschool. Moon was sitting down on the porch playing on his 3DS while Sarah, Mavis, Oliver, and Scott were playing with a ball. All of a sudden, Mavis stopped the ball with a rather disgusted look on her face.

"Ugh...Sarah...it's...you know." she groaned.

A boy with Jet black hair and bright blue eyes approached the yard. Sarah let out an irritated sigh and approached the boy.

"What do you want Dan?" she asked furiously.

Dan gave a really stupid smile, then he reached out and yanked her star pendant off of her neck. "Listen here Sarah." he snapped. "I've had enough of your denial. If you want your stupid necklace back, you have to kiss me."

"I'd sooner die." Sarah spat.

"Then enjoy life without your stupid necklace then!"

"Come on Dan!" Oliver shouted at him. "Get over it, she rejected you on Valentines Day for a reason, stop being such a jerk and just move on, every other freaking girl at school likes you! What is it about Sarah that makes you hold on for this long?"

"She embarrassed me, I am her perfect match, and she refuses to accept it. Just one kiss will change that."

"Dude come on." Scott said dully. "She doesn't like you...just accept it. Just go away and leave us alone." At this point, Moon had looked up from his game, a visible look of anger was evident on his face.

The younger Dan walked over to an uncovered manhole in the sidewalk. "Last chance Sarah." he said, holding her necklace above the manhole. "Kiss me, or I'm going to drop your stupid pendant down here."

"You wouldn't dare!" Mavis shouted. "You know how important that pendant is to her."

Sarah bit down on herself.

"Not going to do, fine then." Dan let go of the Pendant and it fell down the manhole. "Your loss Sarah."

Sarah made a clenched fist. "You are so freaking lucky that your dad is chief of police, otherwise-"

Moon pushed past her and stormed up to Dan. "Listen here shithead!" he hissed. "Before I do something that you're going to regret, go down that stupid sewer and get her pendant back!"

"What if I don't?" Dan sneered.

Moon took a pause. "Sarah...how important is that pendant to you?"

"My...My cousin gave it to me...before she died...it's really valuable, and it's been in my family for a long time...my family would kill me if I lost it."

Moon turned back to Dan, then, he punched him across the face. He hit with such force that it knocked Dan to the ground.

"What the heck, Moon, you can't-" Oliver started.

He turned back to the four of them, all of them still looked completely horrified by his actions. Without saying a word to them, he climbed down the manhole, about a minute or so later, he popped back out of the sewer, once he stood up he withdrew the Star pendant from his hoodie pocket.

"Here, I managed to get your pendant back before the sewer stream washed it away." he said calmly. Out of nowhere, Dan rose back up and punched him in the back of the head. He knocked Moon to the ground then made a motion to take Sarah's pendant again.

"Just let go of my pendant." Sarah shouted at him. "Or else."

"Or else what?" Dan snarled. "What are you going to do? Burn me alive? Encase me in ice? Go on, do it, I dare you, the townsfolk think that you're all special and crap because of your powers, it's all sunshine and rainbows until someone gets hurt by them, then they'll see you for what you truly are, a freak, and a monster."

Moon lifted himself off the ground, he grabbed Dan's arm and gave him a death stare.

"Let go of her pendant." he hissed. "Don't make me any more angry than I already am, you won't like it one bit."

"And why are you sticking up for her?" Dan snapped at him. "She's a freak, she's a monster, no one will admit it to her, but everyone here thinks that she is one." Moon's eyes flashed red.

"Because." Moon hissed in a cold voice. "She's less of a monster than I'll ever be." In the blink of an eye, he forced Dan's arm off of her pendant, twisted it, then punched him across the face again, while Dan was on the ground, he kicked him in...well...the last place anyone would ever want to be kicked. Then, he blinked and shook his head. After that, he looked down at Dan, who was now groaning in pain on the ground.

"Get up, and go back to wherever the hell it is that you come from, try and pull this stunt again, and you'll be sorry asshole."

Dan groaned, but he did stand up, then limped off, back into the streets of Twoson.

"M-Moon...his father is the head of police...y-you shouldn't have done that...yo-you're going to get in trouble." Sarah said worryingly.

Moon snorted. "He'd be a fool to report this incident to his father. Dropping a priceless family heirloom down a manhole all because someone wouldn't give him a kiss? The police force would have to be as bad as the one in Onett for him to get away with that one."

"T-That was...really...well, rash and brave of you." Mavis said in awe. "No one has ever stood up to Dan like that...everyone is always so afraid of his father...and his mother spoils him rotten...so we just never thought they'd take us seriously."

"Word of advice." Moon said, grinning slightly. "If his dad truly is the big and powerful man that he claims to be...then take my advice, get some dirt on him, if you have anything that his son does that would be reputation ruining as a cop...then you'll never have to worry about Dan again if you tell his father, trust me, I'm used to people like him. That's how I've gotten by in this world, making deals with those who think they're above the rest."

The four of them were understandably confused by his statement. He let out a sigh, "Of course, with that being said, you aren't me, none of you strike me as the type who has been alone and afraid, I just try to make each day easier for me...anyway...I'm...going to go inside." he turned around and walked back into the Polestar Preschool.

Oliver turned back to them once he had gone inside. "That...was rather...strange...don't you think?" he asked.

"Yeah...but that was really sweet of him to just go down the sewers to get your pendant back, it's not everyday that someone does that, lord knows none of us would have." Mavis added.

"Don't you think we should feel a little bad for Dan?" Scott asked. "I mean, he did do a bit...much to him right."

"Are you crazy?" Mavis shot back. "Remember what he's done to Sarah in the past? He's had it coming for a while now...don't you agree Sarah?"

Her friends turned to face her, only to see her red in the face, she just stood there in silence, holding her pendant, just looking at it.

Oliver gave her a smug grin. "Sarah?...do you...like him?" he asked.

Sarah's blush intensified at his comment. "N-No…" she said unconvincingly.

Mavis giggled. "Come on Sarah...you can't say that he doesn't spark your interest, he's tough, he's sweet, and he looks at you the same way Dan has...only you know...he's less creepy."

Sarah looked down at her feet. "M-May-Maybe a little. I-I don't know...there's just some sort of...weird feeling I have about him."

Scott clapped his hands. "Alright then Sarah, it's time to do what people in the older age call "the procedures." Mavis and Oliver snickered as Sarah's blush became even more heavy.

The scene faded back to the black void. The voice continued to ring.

"_Sarah, you helped Moon reach an understanding of how not everyone is going to react the same way. Moon, you helped Sarah in a way that no one else ever had, by standing up for her. You two always felt a weird connection to each other, when you were both babies, your little arms would fall on top of each other in those few days you were together. Of course, that special connection carried over to your age over the summer."_

The scene changed one last time, this time, it showed Moon back in Sarah's room, packing up his stuff in his backpack. Sarah entered the room a few moments later, you could hear faint giggles from her friends outside.

Moon turned to her, "Oh...hi." he said quietly.

Her face became more red as she approached him. "Hi." she said. "I uh...I realized that...I never properly thanked you for getting my pendant back." she said, looking down at her feet.

"You don't need to thank me." Moon said quietly. "I would've done the same for anyone else who was nice to me...if anything...I should be thanking you."

"For what?"

"Well...for...being nice to me...It's not everyday that someone is willing to talk and be nice to me...this is the first time I've ever felt included in anything...so...thanks for giving me a good week here."

Sarah's blush was now bright red. "Well...you're welcome." she said, stepping closer to him. "But...I...I wanted to give you something as a thanks for what you did." she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. She separated and looked at him, he just stared into her eyes for some reason. Her face went even more red.

"D-did you...not like it?" she asked with worry.

Moon touched the spot where he had been kissed, "No...I...I liked it." he said, his face suddenly became more red as well. "It's just that...I have a poor memory...so...it's unlikely that I'll even remember this...I'm...I'm sorry."

Sarah blinked, then, she reached back and undid her star pendant, she handed it to him. "Here." she said, placing it in his hand. "I want you to take it, don't worry about what my family will think, just take it as something to remember me by...it will signify to you that you'll always have a friend in me, wherever you are."

Moon took the pendant from her. "Um...thanks Sarah." he said. "I-I should probably get going, my father is here to take me home." the two looked at each other in an uncomfortable silence. All of a sudden, Moon grabbed Sarah and wrapped her in a hug. "Goodbye Sarah." he whispered into her ear. "I'll...I'll miss you."

She hugged him back. "I'll miss you too, Moon."

The scene faded back to the black empty void. The voice spoke up for one final time.

"_The two of you have always known each other, you were more than just friends from the moment you were born, through every hardship you have faced, you've both kept strong, you are chosen heroes, bound by your hearts, your adventure is almost at its end. You will now enter Magicant, this is a combination of "Your Worlds". From here, you both will venture to the Temple of Memories, then into the Sea of Eden, where you will face your dark sides, once you have done that, the last of your power will be awakened, then, you will know what to do." _

The voided landscape then transformed leaving them in the middle of a town, upon looking around, they realized that the town was a mixture between Onett and Twoson. The Polestar Preschool, along with Moon's house were both right next to each other, to the north, they could see the Chaos Theater with the Runaway Five bus parked outside, to the south, they could see the top of the Video Game Arcade. Further past the Chaos Theater there was a grand palace similar to that of Dyson's back in Dalaam.

The two turned to face each other, it was then that they saw that weren't wearing their normal attire. Moon was dressed in his blue and white striped pajamas and slippers without his baseball hat on, while Sarah was wearing a bright green nightgown with pink slippers. Her blue ribbon was also out of her hair.

"Phew, good thing this is the English version." Moon said. "That would've been some really creepy writing and reading for everyone if it wasn't." He took Sarah's hand the two began walking down the street towards the temple. Along the way, they bumped into Everdred.

The man turned to face them, his wild and wavy hair under his fedora was all there, he flashed a toothy smile at them.

"Moon! I know you probably don't want to hear this." he said. "But you remind me a lot of myself when I was younger...it's why I like you...you take good care of Sarah now."

Moon nodded at him, then continued to pull Sarah along. She looked at him in shock.

"Moon...what was that? How was?-"

"This place is called Magicant, Sarah." Moon explained. "It's a world that is run by us in our minds, people who have solidified a place in our brains will appear here to talk to us if we ever are feeling down. They tell us things that shape themselves to our desires."

They continued down the road where they stopped their respective houses. Moon's mother, Sarah's parents, Tracy, and King were all out in the yard. They all approached the two of them.

"Sarah, you've been such a sweetheart to my son, I'm sincerely grateful for everything that you've done, I think that you'd make an amazing wife."

Sarah's face became bright red at that comment. She turned to face Moon, who didn't seem embarrassed at all.

"Moon? Your mother just mentioned marriage to me."

Moon perked up at that comment. On one hand he felt kind of bad, there desires weren't mixed, so it was most likely that they both heard different things, Sarah didn't have to tell him that but she did. Which made him happy, because it told her that she too had been thinking about marriage as well, which meant that she might be ready.

This time, they both heard the same thing from their parents. "Please, you two must be so tired. Come in...stay a while...have some cake...you've both come so far."

Moon grabbed Sarah's hand and guided her away from them.

"Moon...we really could use the break." she panted as he dragged her on with a pretty heavy speed. "Why are you rushing us through this?"

"I'm not saying we don't need a break," he said. "But this place is easily deceptable, it caves into our desires, our wants, I've been here numerous times before, you have been here too, but only briefly, which is why your aren't used to it. This place is perfect, too perfect, everyone here is shaped the way we wish to see them, it's easy to forget that this place exists within our minds."

"But...look at this place." Sarah said. "It's so bright, colorful, happy, peaceful, and relaxing, it's the perfect place for us." Moon promptly stopped, turned around and put his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"That's the problem with this place." he said firmly. "Many may see it for being the peaceful relaxing place that it is. But if you stay here too long, your sense of reality slowly begins to fade away. It's like a prison, a good one, one where, if we truly wanted to, we could stay, be happy."

He led her into the grand temple. Inside, multiple rooms and floors were visible, with one long hallway reaching a hole. Moon led her to the right, into a room where there were five doors, illuminated by a neon light, with words spelling Anger, Fear, Happiness, Love, and Sadness. Instead of leading her to the doors; however, he took her to the center of the room, where each of the pathways branched into one.

"I know we should be going to the Sea of Eden to face our dark sides." he said, noticing Sarah's questionable look. "But...I did want to show you something." he kicked up a rug revealing a small door below. He opened the door and withdrew a small orb, it was a black a blue striped orb he turned to her and handed her the orb.

"Touch this to your forehead." he said slowly. "I know this is probably the last thing you'd ever want to see...but...there's no way for me to truly explain this to you...it's best that you just see it for yourself...Dark Moon will probably visit you, since we share this memory, he seems to like it for some reason, don't be afraid, just listen to what he has to say."

Sarah swallowed hard. With shaky hands, she took the orb from him and touched it to her forehead. In a flash of bright, white light, the scene changed.

She found herself in a hallway, based on the look of it, with lockers and a staircase with doors leading into other rooms on occasions, she figured she was probably in a school. She looked around with a particular interest, this was definitely the school Moon went to in Onett, but, why was she here of all places?

In an unexpected twist, Dark Moon appeared in front of her, before she could make a movement, he grabbed her hand. A stinging, burning pain suddenly ran through her arm.

"Don't resist." he hissed. "Moon wishes that I attempt to explain this shit to you...just for now, we aren't on opposite sides...if you attempt to resist this, I'll just make this hurt much more than it should...understand?" Sarah gave a reluctant nod. Dark Moon let go of her arm.

"Good." he hissed. "Memories shared between both of us work a bit differently, you'll be able to see both of us at once. This memory is special...so uh...enjoy."

A bell rang, letting students out of classrooms. A lot of kids walked out, talking amongst one another, Sarah caught sight of a younger Monica and Olive chatting with each other as they walked out of their room. Followed by Pokey, who, even at a younger age, was still quite chubby, he was also backed by a gang of other kids, all boys, then Moon, now in a blue hoodie and baseball hat, next to him, was Dark Moon, who basically floated next to him.

Once out in the hallway, Pokey's gang of friends immediately rounded on Moon, one of the biggest, slammed him against one of the lockers. There were several cheers from many others amongst a now watching crowd.

"You think that shit was real funny don't ya smartass?" the kid shouted. "Calling me out in front of Monica like that? I was about to start something, then you ruined it."

"I'm sorry...I didn't realize you were being funny." Moon cried. "I am sorry, I didn't know."

"You don't deserve to live, you always just get in everyone's way, ruining days for most, and doing even worse to others...in what universe do you live in?"

"Drop it Sam." Pokey snarled at the boy. "He's not worth the trouble, plus, you know how he can get, just let go of him, keep it up, and we'll have a bigger problem a foot."

The boy let out a growl, but let go of Moon regardless. Pokey and his gang of boys walked off, so did everyone else, leaving Moon alone, on the ground, and crying. Dark Moon sat down next to him.

"Why didn't you just let me at them, Pokey and his gang of misfits have it coming to them!" he hissed at him.

"Y-Y-you aren't going to hurt anyone…" Moon cried. "N-N-never again...I don't care if they're a selfish bitch...I-I-I'm sick of you hurting everyone!"

"What are you going to do about it?"

Moon slowly stood up and walked into an empty classroom. The lights were turned off and it honestly looked like it was an abandoned, Moon walked to the back of the classroom and to the closest. He opened it and withdrew a rope and hung it up to the top of a hook on the ceiling.

Dark Moon didn't seem to phased by this idea. "Well...that's one way to stop me I guess." he said, shrugging slightly. "Though, I certainly don't think you're worthless, you've got potential, greatness is awaiting you in the near future...it'd be a shame to throw that away."

Moon ignored him and tied a tight circle around the rope. "Never again," he said. "This ends now Dark...I'm not letting you do this again." he stood up on a chair facing the rope.

Suddenly, the door opened and a younger Olive walked into the room. She took one look at what was going on and let out a shriek. She ran up in front of Moon and gently pulled him off the chair.

"What the hell are you thinking?" she snapped at him. "You were going to commit suicide?"

"J-J-Just let me die!" Moon cried. "I'm trying to protect people...just let me die! No one cares about me anyway! The world will be so much better off without me!"

"People do care about you!" Olive shouted. "You've got a family! I care about you! Moon! Stop! Just let me help you! You need it!"

The entire scene then changed to a black void. Dark Moon turned to face Sarah, "If it wasn't for Olive that fateful day." he hissed. "Moon would've never met you, and my sweetheart would've never been awakened, but Giygas would've won...My sweetheart and I are waiting for the two of you in the Sea of Eden...come and challenge us if you dare."

Sarah blinked back into the room. The little blue and black orb in her hand had disappeared. Moon was looking at her with an evident look of concern.

"Did you see it?" he asked. Sarah nodded. "Dark wasn't any trouble was he?" Sarah shook her head. "Alright then, let's go."

He took her hand and led her out of the room and down the hallway, they approached the end, in the room, there was a statue of what looked like a tentacle, holding onto her hand. Moon touched the statue and the two were transported into the middle of a long sea, it was only about waist deep so they were still able to stand. They approached a small island close to them, both of their dark sides stood on the island.

"So...the two of you finally made it to us." Dark Sarah hissed. "We've been waiting for this moment for quite some time now...so let's not waste anytime." Her hand suddenly started erupting black and red sparks. Moon quickly pushed Sarah out of the way."

"PK Hate!" Black and red lasers shot off her hand throwing him off the island and into the water. He quickly got back up, seeing as they were surrounded by water, there never felt like a better time. He used PK Hydro to summon a tsunami just like the Demonrift said he could, a large ocean wave towered over the island, he teleported up to it and grabbed Sarah teleporting away yet again as the wave crashed down on the island. He quickly drew Saphria from behind his back, waiting patiently.

In a flash of black light Dark Moon and Dark Sarah appeared in the water as well. A barrage of black flames erupted of Dark Sarah's hand, Sarah countered with a PSI Freeze to extinguish them. Her hand flashed brown and she used PK Ground, a sudden rumble shook the ground causing water to burst up like a geyser. One geyser threw Dark Moon up into the air, Moon quickly teleported above him and used Saphria to land a penetrated stab on his shoulder as he spiked him into the water.

Dark Sarah averted her attention away from Sarah and summoned a starstorm. The meteors fell at astonishing speeds spiking Moon into the water as well. She then turned back to Sarah, drawing out a black frying pan with a red star on it. Sarah saw the pan starting to heat up and quickly used a PSI Freeze again to hold her in place. She then took out her own Magic Frying Pan and smacked her with an electrical shock.

Dark Moon appeared behind her and she felt a slash near her back, a sudden stinging pain shot through her body as she was also flung from impact. He moved over to Dark Sarah, before he could reach her, a topaz knight statue dashed into her sending her off as well. He turned to glare at Moon before unleashing an omega PK Rockin which Moon countered with an omega Rollin, both big bright beams of multi-colored light and black and red light clashed with each other with a massive explosion, rattling the ground in the Sea of Eden.

Moon reunited with Sarah and both of them prepared a finishing blow.

"PK Rollin Ω!"

"PK Love!"

The beams of light merged and consumed their dark sides, another explosion of light, when the smoke and light cleared, both of their dark sides were still standing. Dark Sarah's hand started erupting black and red sparks. However, Dark Moon got in front of her

"No my love." Dark Moon hissed. "We've done enough." He turned back to Moon and Sarah.

"You both are ready for the future. My love and I will retreat for a while, but mark my words, we'll be back. We don't die, we are forever a part of you two." they both vanished in a flash of black light, leaving the two in the sea alone.

The sea suddenly turned into the black voided landscape. The two of them suddenly heard a familiar voice talking to them it sounded like the voice of the blue figure who had been holding the Demonrift in their visions.

"_Giygas' goal was to destroy you, to defeat you, to turn both of you into weapons of Multiversal destruction...everything in the entire Multiverse could have been destroyed at the hands of you and Giygas, and the sad truth is...he was supposed to win."_

Moon and Sarah both looked at each other. The whole time they had been training, and getting stronger, it was all supposed to be for nothing? For them to just...become mass weapons of destruction? No...that couldn't be possible!

"_I know you don't want to believe the information I tell you, but it is the honest truth, you two were supposed to be the greatest threat that the multiverse had ever seen. You both have a deep and dark past that should never be revealed to anyone, your existence, everything you've been told about how you came to be...it is nothing more than a lie." _

Their existence was a lie? Paula had been lying to them about creating them?

"_I don't have much time, this is a pre recorded message that was implanted in both your brains for when the time comes, if you are hearing this, then, Moon, Sarah, congratulations, my plan worked, I managed to right the wrong of a very stupid descion made by someone. You probably are thinking that Paula has been lying to you. Well, the sad truth is, she and everyone else, have been lied to as well, she's been framed for your creation, to which she is only responsible for very little."_

"But why? What did Paula do to deserve that?" They both asked.

"_Unfortunately, I cannot describe who is responsible for this catastrophe, just listen to me very carefully. I can only control so much of your adventure for much longer, once this message is over, you must head to Saturn Valley...please...listen to me...You MUST go see Giygas alone! If you value the lives of Erick and Dyson you MUST go alone. Once you get to Giygas, you'll have a big decision to make, I advise that you think about this choice carefully, there are three possible outcomes, but I can assure you this, in all three timelines, as long as you go together, you're friends, family, and the world will be safe for all eternity...Sarah...I am sending you back now, there is one last thing I wish to discuss with Moon alone."_

Moon turned his head and saw Sarah vanish. He turned back to the void.

"_Moon, you have experienced a lot on this adventure, this "big decision" that I refer to, may not have the same outcomes as the possible futures I planned for both of you. I worry that should "she" discover what I have done to your world, she'll try to do something about it, I have stripped away her ability to do so, and placed it in the hands of the Demonrift, I am telling you this for a reason. Should you learn that anyone important to you or your friends have been killed after you hear this, then, I beg of you, convince Sarah to make the decision that is in your heart, this "New Choice" that I am referring to is a timeline that I personally don't wish to happen. But, should anyone important to you or your friends be killed before you and Sarah visit Giygas, then make the decision in your heart. Erick, Dyson, Petra, Giovanna, and your soon to be adopted Mr. Saturn, Astro, will all survive this disaster, everyone else in your world won't be as lucky. There is no way around this as "She" will have made sure of it, but I've placed a protective barrier on your friends, and a semi-protective barrier on you and Sarah, the choice is yours, but I do recommend that you see your friends again."_

Moon bowed his head. If he was being told THIS then it was bound to happen, everyone close to them would die, they'd be left with nothing, and with no way around it, hell it probably already happened. But there was still some sort of weird messed up future for them.

"_One last thing Moon Wolfe, no matter what anyone says to you and Sarah, you are not monsters, you two are heroes, far better heroes than most of Smash's competitors, Be proud to be Giygas' children wear that label proudly, you've shown that you can still make good, even if there is a lot of evil inside of you."_

Moon nodded.

"_I am going to mess with your personality, and give you some last minute PSI powers that I discovered in your world, should you decide that it's not yours and Sarah's time, you'll need it. Also, incase you are wondering, now is the time to pop the question to Sarah."_

From there, Moon felt three locks break in his head.

"_PK Accelerate" _

"_PK Darkness"_

"_PK Fire" _

From there, the world began to spin, he saw flash visions of all the sanctuaries the world spun quickly before coming to a rest in Fire Spring, He jolted awake in the sanctuary. His friends were looking at him with concern.

"I'm fine." he said quickly. "We need to go to Saturn Valley...but first...there's uh...there's something that I wanted to do." He fished through his backpack on the ground before withdrawing a small box, he turned to face Sarah on one knee with the box open showing a ring.

"Sarah...I know this is kind of...out of nowhere...but...w-w-would you marry me?" he asked.

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter, I hope you enjoyed it, my plan for Magicant was always to show off some more of the past, instead of taking the time to explore it, I know that Magicant is kind of a big step, but it was all part of my plan.Anyway, next chapter will probably be short as well, it's mainly going to just begin to tie up towards Moon and Sarah going to see Giygas, however, since that chapter would be pretty stupidly short compared to all the others, I'm gonna throw in a bit of "World Hopping" just so you can get more used to the Demonrift, we'll also be seeing a "Funny" interaction with some old friends.Anyway, leave a review letting me know what you think, and I'll see you in the next chapter...Damn, hard to believe I only have 3 chapters left in this series before we move onto the sequel. Then again, the prologue to the sequel will be coming out before the epilogue to this story...so we probably have another four weeks until Bound By Earth is truly done.**

**Anyway, see you all then.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Nani? Another chapter in the middle of the week? Well, I got an opportunity to get a two chapters for my current series going over Thanksgiving as well as The first chapter of the Sequel, which has now been put into development. Enjoy this chapter, I hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

**Chapter 31: Dimensional Mishaps**

For the longest time, everyone was just speechless. The five friends just kind of...stood there in silence. It seemed as if time had paused.

"Sarah...you've said that we have a future together...one with our dark sides...if our future has all that written...then...don't you think that we should just...get this over with?" Moon asked.

Sarah just stood there, almost in a trance.

"Moon...why? Where did this even come from?" Erick asked.

"Just...a weird feeling...and...being in Magicant only confirmed my feelings...we've known each other since the day we were born...I've never been more sure of my thoughts than now."

Sarah blinked back into existence. "Moon…I...I do love you...and...If doing this is what feels right to you...then...yes...I will marry you." Moon took the ring from out of the box and placed it on her ring finger. Then the two of them kissed each other.

"This feels really wrong...on like...so many levels." Erick said.

"Petra and I married at ten, Friend Erick." Dyson piped up.

"Well this is nice…" Petra said. "We can go back to Dalaam and do the whole ceremony now if you-"

"We can't do that princess." Moon said. "We were given directions, to go to Saturn Valley, there's something there that is awaiting us there."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Erick said. "Let's get going."

Everyone grabbed onto Moon and they all vanished in a flash of pink light. Right as the light settled down. Ness, Paula, Jeff, and Poo walked into Fire Spring.

"Well crap…" Ness said. "Looks like we missed them."

"Have we even decided what we're going to do?" Jeff asked him. "I mean...Ness...what are we supposed to tell them? Their entire world, their friends and family are all dead...their world is destroyed...Pokey's backed them into a corner...this world...this world is gone."

"I already thought of that." Ness replied. "It doesn't matter what anyone at the council says when this is all over. We're taking any survivors, and we're bringing them with us...they can live in our world...It's for the better."

"Wait...isn't that...Illegal?" Poo asked. "I thought we weren't allowed to cross dimensions?"

"We aren't allowed to cross clusters...any affairs within our own cluster are for me and Lucas to deal with, yes, technically speaking, taking the survivors to our world is illegal...but I'm not going to just sit here and let them suffer...I don't care how much trouble I get in with the council at this point."

"N-N-Ness." Paula said. Everyone turned to look at her. Her skin was pretty pale, and her whole body was shaking.

"Paula? Is...is something wrong."

Suddenly a flash vision ran through her head.

Pokey was inside of Moon's house in Onett, furniture and other stuff was on fire. There was some blood stained on his striped tuxedo. An evil smirk spread across his face as he turned to look in her direct line of sight.

"Too slow Paula." he snarled. "You should've forced Ness to leave...I've got one last place I need to visit...there's no stopping me now!"

Paula felt her heart sink, she was snapped back to reality in Fire Spring and started crying.

"W-w-w-We FAILED!" she screamed startling her friends. "They're DEAD! Moon's family is DEAD!"

The three boys just looked at each other, then back at Paula.

"So...that's it then?" Jeff asked. "We didn't do anything right?...We didn't change anything...we failed to save them? Giygas wins?"

"I...I guess." Ness said, looking down at his feet. "Which means that...the council's gonna flip."

An orange portal shot opened in front of them, and Lucas stepped out of it. Ness turned back to his friends. "Well...there's nothing we can do now." he said sadly. "We might as well face the music and receive our punishment.

"Uh...Ness...you all are safe." Lucas interrupted.

"What?" Jeff asked. "How are we safe? I thought the Multiverse was pretty ticked with us?"

Lucas frowned. "Well...they are." he said nervously. "By some miracle, at the last minute, Zelda was able to get the Triforce of Wisdom to confirm that there would be no damage dealt to the Multiverse from Dark Sanctuary's three possible timelines. So the charges were required to be dropped."

Ness breathed a sigh of relief. "So...what's the final ruling?"

"Well, Palutena wasn't happy...in fact, a lot of the Multiverse wasn't happy with the Triforce's ruling, but, you know the drill, if the Triforce confirms something, it's gonna happen. Thankfully, since the vote was already tallied, it was left to go to those who were with us. So, they gave the decision to me with the order to give it to you, we have free reign to do whatever we want with this world. So long as we don't violate any laws...So...what are we going to do?"

Ness turned to Paula, who was still sniffling. "Paula...this is your choice...we can do whatever you see fit with this world."

"W-W-well...l-let's...let's take them with us." she said. "Just the survivors...but...we need to save any remaining survivors."

"Alright then, Lucas, you can stay with us...we can't teleport to Saturn Valley here since we've never been there in this world...so we're going to just teleport back to Twoson and walk there." The five began their trek out of Fire Spring to Lost Underworld so they could teleport back to Twoson.

* * *

**(Saturn Valley)**

The chosen four appeared in the bright happy valley. The Blue eyes Mr. Saturn that was with them, hopped out of Sarah's arms and onto the ground, walking back towards his friends. Who were all gathered around a large metallic sphere that looked like a Mr. Saturn. Alongside Dr. Andonuts and Apple Kid.

"Erick!"

Giovanna ran up to them and embraced Erick in a tight hug. It didn't take Moon long to notice that the brunette looked kind of pale and was holding onto Erick tightly. There was something wrong...he could feel it. He concentrated on her thoughts and slowly wished he hadn't."

"The...the boarding school you go to has been destroyed?" he asked. Everyone turned to look at him in shock.

"I'm sorry...what?" Erick asked.

"Her thoughts were spilling out...I...I couldn't stop it...even if I wanted to...what happened?"

Giovanna looked at them sadly. "Dr. Andonuts was informed by some wandering traveler...I think he said his name was Jeff...anyway, he told him that the boarding school had been bombed...or blown up...no survivors."

Everyone turned to face Erick, who had now gone pale, then, for the first time since they had known each other, tears started to spill out of him.

"E-Erick?" Sarah asked. She reached out to comfort him, only for him to just gently push her away.

"N-Not now." the genius sniffed. "J-J-Just...not now...please...just...leave me alone." he slowly just left them where they were, walking into one of the small houses that the Mr. Saturns had built.

Dyson made a starting motion to go into the house after him. That was when Moon heard the voice of the Demonrift go through his head.

"_It remains essential that you listen to me...I'm going to give you the best outcome for your friends...to ensure that the special charm invoked on you, and your friends, stays in tact, follow my direct orders...leave Erick alone...have only Giovanna go and comfort him."_

Great, now he was taking orders from the book. This was honestly silly, but at this point, what other option did he truly have?

"_Master Wolfe! I know this seems silly...but I'm trying to help you...your timeline is slowly falling apart...please...I know that you and Sarah wish to try and change fate...but this is different...if you want your friends to survive, please listen to me! After Giovanna goes inside, you and Sarah must go to Onett, retrieve a piece of the meteorite that fell and started your whole adventure. Leave Dyson and Petra, the dying Star Master will tell them that their country has been destroyed please...just listen!"_ Moon obeyed, he grabbed Dyson's shoulder and when the young prince turned to look at him. He knew, there was no turning back at this point.

"No, Dyson, you stay...Giovanna...you go try and comfort him." he said calmly. "You two knew the people at the boarding school better than us...any attempt we have at comforting him is shattered by that one factor." The brunette nodded and followed after Erick into the house.

"Friend Moon...we should go and-"

"No." Moon said flatly. "You, me, and Sarah are going to Onett. I need to get a piece of the meteorite for that machine they're working on...the voice in Magicant told me that."

"But what about?"

"No." Moon said, in a rather cold tone. "Princess, you stay here in the valley, we don't have time to waste with this...we'll deal with that problem later."

Sarah looked at him in shock. Dyson gave him a look of suspicion before shrugging.

"Friend Moon, at least allow me to ensure Petra is comfortable before we leave." the prince asked sincerely.

"Sure...just make it quick."

Dyson and Petra moved over to a different house from where Erick was. Leaving Moon and Sarah alone. Sarah turned to face him.

"Moon, what was that? What happened? Why aren't we helping Erick?"

Moon looked at her, then, when he couldn't hold it in any longer, he broke down, he grabbed her arm and just teleported out of the valley.

* * *

**(Onett)**

The two appeared right in front Moon's house in Onett. Moon quickly looked around, all of Onett was in ruins, the town on fire, buildings were destroyed, and there were numerous dead bodies on the ground, and, right outside his house, he saw his mother and sisters bodies as well. That was it, he couldn't take it any longer.

"Y-Y-Your family is dead!" he cried. "Dyson's country is destroyed! All those closest to us are dying Sarah!"

Sarah just looked at him. "M-My...My parents...are...dead?" she asked as tears started to develop in her eyes.

"YES!" Moon shouted, falling to the ground and crying. "I know! That stupid voice told me! Everyone is going to die unless we do something with Giygas! I can't take it! Why must we lose everything? I'm sorry that I dragged all of you into this! I should've just killed myself that day! Then none of this would've ever happened!" To his surprise, Sarah wrapped her arms around him.

"Moon...no!" she said firmly, but in a soft voice. "No! Don't you ever say something like that to me! You did the right thing by letting Olive help you!"

"But your family is dead!" Moon cried. "Dyson's people are dead! Erick's friends are dead! Hell at this point MY OWN FAMILY IS DEAD!"

"Moon! Look at me!" Sarah said forcefully. He looked up at her, tears still fell down his face. But what he saw, Sarah was crying as well, but not because of what he told her about her family, but over what he was saying right now.

"Moon...this isn't your fault!" she cried. "None of this is your fault! If you had killed yourself that day...I would've never met you! Giygas would've won if you had killed yourself that day! If anything, the way I see it, if you had killed yourself that day, everyone else would've been dead anyway! Giygas...or Pokey...or...whoever the hell did this! They're messing with us! They're trying to put us down at the very end of our adventure when we're so close to our goal!"

Moon swallowed. Where was this new Sarah coming from? He knew that corruption worked in mysterious ways...if it did anything positive...it made her smarter and more logical. But then again, it also affected her negatively. Here she was, someone who used to care about everyone and everything...now not crying because of the loss of people close to them, but because the person closest to her was now on emotional collapse.

"S-S-Sarah-" She silenced him with a quick kiss.

"Moon...I promised Olive that I'd take care of you...I love you...I've watched my family die so many times from Dark Sarah's nightmares...that I'm barely even upset about it...what's upsetting me is you...please...stop acting like this! None of this is your fault! It never was and it never will be! We've stood by each other's side; through cults, zombies, deserts, pyramids, the sea, snow, kidnappings, alien bases, and our own brains!"

"But why?" Moon cried. "Why do you still love me? What part of you other than that weird feeling makes you know that you love me? All I've ever done is tear you apart...I've turned you into someone that you aren't!"

"Moon...that memory we saw in Magicant. It was true, not even my own friends would stick up for me if someone called me a monster because of my powers. Most of the people who hung out with me were only being nice to see my powers, or because they were afraid of my powers and just wanted to make sure they were on my good side. Oliver, Mavis, and Scott didn't care about my powers, they just thought I was nice, but they still wouldn't stick up for me if someone called me a monster! When you stood up for me against Dan...you showed me a part of someone that I had never seen before."

"Which was what?" Moon cried. "That there were indeed people out their that were-" Sarah silenced him again with another kiss.

"No." she said. "You showed me someone who cared. Someone who was willing to get themselves into trouble just to stick up for me. You showed me kindness that I had never seen before. Someone I could trust. When you gave my pendant back to me, that was when I learned what love felt like, it felt beautiful, it felt right."

Moon just kept crying in her arms. She held him close to her, not letting go, like he was some sort of precious object that would easily break.

"Moon...I wouldn't have said yes to your proposal if I didn't feel these things about you." she said softly. "You say that wolves are loyal? I'm a Wolfe now, I will forever remain by your side. No matter what the situation is in the future, I will stand by your side and support you! The voice said that our friends will survive if we face Giygas alone...correct? Then that's what we'll do! Something will come along and rescue us! Despite our world being destroyed, something will come and rescue them! We'll be safe...we'll be able to live happily ever after! Together! As a family!"

Moon wiped his eyes and finally returned her hug back to her. "Y-You really think so?" he asked. "You really think we'll finally be able to rest after this?"

"I'm positive." Sarah said. "As long as nothing stupid happens as long as their is no stupid information about us that comes up with Giygas! I think that we'll live happily ever after. We are Giygas' children...he'll tell us everything he knows...as long as he doesn't have anything shocking, then we're safe...we can live happily ever after, as friends! Now, let's get that meteorite piece."

* * *

**(Saturn Valley, Later that night)**

Moon awoke later at night in Saturn Valley. He and Sarah had no problems retrieving the meteorite piece, apparently, the defeat of the Diamond dog was the last of Giygas' forces, either that, or they all retreated with Onett's destruction.

Either way, Dr. Andonuts said that the completion of the machine would take possibly all night. He only woke up to make sure he and Sarah could get the heck out of there before Erick and Dyson woke up. In the meantime however, he decided to step outside and open the Demonrift.

"Hi Hi!" Moon turned to see the blue eyes Mr. Saturn looking at him. Behind him, was...Sarah?

"You couldn't sleep either?" She asked.

"Yeah…" he admitted. The two just kind of stood there in an awkward silence.

"Why are we going alone? What if it's all a trap from Giygas to lure us out?" Sarah asked. "I mean...I know I said I'm positive...but...what could possibly save our friends from this disaster?"

Moon suddenly had a flash vision. He saw Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo, and Lucas all in Saturn Valley, they were all looking for something by the looks of it. He shook himself back to reality.

"Ness and his friends are going to save our friends." he said. "I just had a vision of them."

Sarah nodded. "The uh...the machine isn't done yet. Dr. Andonuts said maybe another hour or two, at the very worst, it'll be done before sunrise...what do we want to do until then? Sleeping is kind of out of the question."

Moon looked down at the Demonrift. "Well...how about we take a small honeymoon around the Multiverse?" he asked. "I've got the Demonrift, we could take a look around the clusters of the Multiverse if you want."

"I short trip honeymoon around the Multiverse...sounds fun." Sarah said. "Let's look around."

Moon held onto the Demonrift. Suddenly the voice rang through his head.

"_To which Cluster/Multiverse would you like to visit...Master Wolfe?"_ it asked.

Moon blinked. "Um...you know...we're up for a bit of fun, surprise us."

"_If you insist, Master Wolfe."_

The two of them vanished from Saturn Valley in a flash of orange light.

* * *

They appeared inside of a deep dark cavern. Lava filled the room and spread all over the place. The two of them looked around.

"So...where are we?" Sarah asked.

A loud demonic screech suddenly echoed through the area. A streak of purple shot by them at the speed of a jet. Whatever it was didn't pay attention to them, or didn't notice them. Then, they heard a woman's voice echoed through the area. As two people, one in a robotic power suit, the other in some sort of racing outfit stepped into a clearing.

"FINALLY WE FOUND YOU!" She shouted. "Alright you stupid ass dragon! Time for you to meet your doom!"

The streak of purple stopped, revealing a giant purple dragon with piercing yellow eyes.

"Samus Aran." The dragon hissed. "Douglas Falcon. It's so very nice to see you again. But, I don't think you've prepared yourselves...you've come quite outnumbered you fucking fools!"

"We're outnumbered." the man asked. "It's two to one...aren't you supposed to be madly intelligent?"

In response, the Dragon let off another screech. It echoed through the area, causing the rocky ledge Moon and Sarah were standing on to start shaking. A part of the edge fell into the lava, Sarah nearly went with it, however, Moon grabbed onto her before she fell.

Down below, a black hole opened and out stepped two more people, they looked eerily similar to the two standing in front of the dragon. The one in what looked like a power suit was all black with lights of blue filling the cracks. The one that mirrored the racing man, was wearing an all red racing suit, with a purple racing helmet with a skull and crossbones across the top.

"We are in the Locus Cluster." Moon said quietly. "This is Norfair, the home of Ridley, the Cunning God of Death."

"Who are those people with him?"

"The one in the orange and red power suit is Samus Aran. A legendary bounty hunter for the Galactic Federation, she's master combat with her basically indestructible power suit. That suit offers a variety of different types of options. She can shoot charge shots, missiles, ice beams, and much more, the suit is also powerful enough to withstand a nuclear missile with no damage. The one who looks like her is an alien parasite that took over a suit of armor replica of hers, that's Dark Samus, she follows Ridley's orders and serves kind of like a daughter to him, the parasite, when a host is infected, will think that the first thing it sees is its mother or father. Ridley just so happened to be the first thing it saw."

"Okay...what about the other two?"

"The man in blue is Douglas Jay Falcon or as he's more formally called, Captain Falcon. He's a man of many talents, he's a former F-zero racer, however, a large accident a couple of years ago resulted in the Death of almost all of the racers. He fell apart and went into alcoholism for a few years, his cousin Jody snapped him out of it, forcing him to take up a job with the Galactic Federation. The man who looks like him is Marty Falcon...or as he's more properly known, Blood Falcon. The evil clone of Douglas created by his original nemesis Black Shadow, he's a ruthless killing machine, however, he shows restraint towards the man he's cloned after and few others that Douglas is close too. Both of them have the power of Fire unleashing signature Falcon Punches and Kicks, they also have Titanium body parts in some places on their bodies. Blood Falcon is thought to be responsible for the F-zero accident, however, there's no evidence to support it."

"They sound really scary and dangerous." Sarah said nervously, "Maybe we should help them?"

"What the fuck was that?" Ridley suddenly hissed. Everyone paused and looked at the giant dragon. He started flying up off the platform and looked around. Moon quickly pulled Sarah behind a corner of a small cavern.

"Boss? You good?" Blood Falcon called. "What's up?"

"I heard voices...it sounded like two children." the Dragon's voice hissed. "Did one of you idiots kidnap children again? What the fuck have I told you about that!"

They both heard large flaps of wind from the Dragon's massive winds. After a while the wing flaps got more distant.

Moon and Sarah looked out of the cavern, just in time to see Ridley, Dark Samus, and Blood Falcon vanish in a flash of orange light.

"The actual fuck?" Samus shouted. "Get back here! We weren't done with you!"

"Forget it Samus." Falcon growled. "Ridley said they heard voices we've got a duty."

"Fine." the woman growled. "Let's get out of here and continue or search."

Moon turned to Sarah. "Phew, that was close." he said. "Let's keep up our tour I guess." The two vanish in a flash of orange light.

* * *

They appeared inside of a grand temple, both quickly looked around, there was a large sector screen, kind of like a computer, but it was like a circular table. Moon curiously moved over to the table and took a look at what it said.

_Dark Sanctuary..._

"_I can't take this anymore! What happened to my powers? Why can't I do anything? What did he do? This world...It's dangerous...it's illegal...I have to get rid of it! Those two are too powerful and of course, everyone has to get in my (censored) way! No matter, I already made a deal to make sure this world is destroyed, no one...no one can ever learn about this...I'll be in massive trouble if they do."_

Moon suddenly heard footsteps coming from off the area. "Shit! Sarah!" he called. "We need to get out of here." He quickly grabbed onto Sarah and the two warped out of the area. But not before Moon caught glimpse of a figure, walking into the room

* * *

The two of them reappeared inside of yet another palace. This time, it wasn't as grand or royal, but it was still technically a palace.

"Where are we now?" Sarah asked, looking around curiously. They heard heavy footsteps coming off in the distance from down the hall. Moon grabbed Sarah and pulled her around a corner.

A rather big blue penguin wearing royal red and yellow robes with what looked like a crown or diadem on his head. He carried a giant hammer with him as well. Next to him was blue circular creature wearing a gray mask. He had solid yellow eyes and giant blue bat wings, alongside a cape. He carried a weird looking golden sword with several sharp points coming out of it's blade.

"So this Tabuuto person wants us to do what now Meta Knight?" The penguin asked.

"Sire, he is calling upon the villains to join him, he wishes for the two of us to join him." Meta Knight responded in a heavily accented tone.

"But we ain't villains Meta Knight. We've been on Kirby's side for years now! Remember who saved everyone in Subspace?"

"Sire, I understand that, but you know that the council will pay no attention to this, should the plan go through...it would be best that we are on the presented villains side, we could work as double agents, working against them from the inside...it is dangerous but we must do that in order to preserve the safety of the Multiverse."

"Alright then...let's go." The two creatures vanished in a flash of orange light.

Moon walked off from behind the corner. "Looks like there's a lot going on around the Multiverse at the moment." he said. "We ended up in the Anomaly of Nightmares, this must be King Dedede's castle in Dreamland."

"Let's go home." Sarah said. "Before something bad happens." Moon nodded and the two vanished in a flash of orange light.

* * *

**(Giegue Cluster)**

The two of them appeared in Saturn Valley and quickly looked around.

"Sarah...I know that this is kind of...out there...but...There's a song I was taught by Olive...and...I want to sing to you...is that alright?" Sarah nodded. "Of course Moon."

Moon smiled, then, he took a deep breath, remembering the words that Olive had taught him so long ago. But then, some weird instincts kicked in and he grabbed Sarah, wrapping an arm around her waist, he started slowly swaying both of them back and forth.

"_When you are happy with Laughter to spare,_

_Fun is twice as fun with someone to share_

_When you are lonely and full of despair,_

_Things aren't half as bad when somebody cares_

_When you're looking for shoulder you can cry on,_

_Won't you think about me!_

_When you're looking for someone you can rely on,_

_Don't you ever doubt me_

_I'll be there someway somehow, _

_That's what Bein' Friends is all about!"_

The two separate from each other, stopping their slow dance together. "Sarah...you've made me so happy...I'm so glad I met you...even then...you've made me so happy...we've come so far."

"I'm just glad we're back in our world, sure everything may be destroyed and ruined, our families might be dead, but we've got a mission."

"UM EXCUSE ME?" a voice that sounded close to Moon's suddenly shouted. "BUT WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

They turned around to see copies of themselves. Moon's copy was the most different, he didn't carry Saphria, he wore no hoodie, a red baseball hat, raven black hair like Erick, and had silver eyes. Sarah's copy wore a pink dress and red ribbon, she was holding the hand of Moon's copy, Erick's copy had blond hair and blue eyes, and also looked relatively uptight. Dyson's copy had slightly darker skin and dark brown eyes. The six of them kind of just stood in silence for a bit.

"_Master Wolfe...you seem to have gotten yourself into an awkward situation...just listen to me."_

"Moon Wolfe." Moon said to the copies. "Sarah...Polestar?

"Are you seriously not comfortable addressing not me as a Wolfe now? We're married!

"Right, Sarah Wolfe." he said motioning towards Sarah. "The children of Giygas."

As he expected, all four of them suddenly braced themselves for an attack. In response, he drew out Saphria.

"I should've known that this was just some more of Nightmare's bullshit when I saw you two in that reflection back Lumine Hall you stupid emo bitch boy!" The boy who looked like Moon snapped.

Sarah opened her mouth to say something, Moon cut her off. "Say nothing Sarah, I'll take care of this." She fell quiet. He turned back to the copies and listened as the Demonrift started presenting information to him. Then he formed a smile, a jokingly evil one.

"What the hell is so funny Wolfe-san?" The boy who looked liked Dyson asked.

"Sapphire Starr," he said looking at the boy who looked like him. "That makes you Willow Throne Polestar...Anthony Andonuts…and Noct Amiyari." The copies all looked shocked at his words.

"Don't act so surprised." Moon said, shrugging slightly. "I know quite a lot about you."

"And all we need to know is that you and your girlfriend are Giygas' children, which means your against us...I defeated Nightmare...this bullshit isn't going to stop us." Sapphire snapped.

"And...he's back to swearing again." Anthony muttered.

Moon felt a force trying to pull Saphria away from him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." he said looking at Sapphire. "Unlike me, you aren't exactly what Saphria would call worthy. I don't sense a dark heart within you."

"But you two are counterparts...even if you are what we would call a fallen timeline-"

"Shut up Ant, we don't have time to deal with this." Willow snapped.

"Funny how things worked out for you isn't it?" Moon asked. "But Sarah and I are far from your adversaries. Which is lucky, because we are also more powerful than you."

"Moon please stop messing with them...let's just go home."

"No no. Stay, I'm very interested in where you're going with this." Sapphire said. "Do you intend to fight us?"

"No, that'd be stupid, and it'd be unfair, you don't have what I have, the Dark forces of PSI are a pathway to many abilities some of which, are considered to be unnatural."

"And forbidden by Dalaam's standards." Noct piped up.

"Shut up, I'm just saying, I could kill you without trying."

"Great Emo Sapphire is an arrogant bitch." Anthony groaned.

"Is it arrogance?" Moon asked. "Or is it just my own belief...or is it the honest truth...I mean, what's stopping me from just killing you?"

"You aren't hurting my friends." Sapphire shouted. Saphria was suddenly forced out of Moon's grasp and into his hands. Moon snorted.

"You fucking idiot."

He watched as black light started to spread onto Sapphire's arm and the boy started shrieking pain.

"SAPPHIRE!" Willow screamed. "You little...PSI Fire Ω!"

"PK Hydro." Moon shouted. His blast of water extinguished her flames and pushed her and the others away from Sapphire. "PK Earth." The earth's surface started shifting around Willow, Anthony and Noct, wrapping them in what looked like more of a grass...perhaps a vine. Moon approached his counterpart, who was now on the ground, still holding onto Saphria, screaming in agony

"You were a fool to think that you could just overpower Giygas's corruption just because you defeated Nightmare. Nightmare was just a weaker version of my own dark side. You have no experience with corruption. You don't even have a dark heart, I'm sure that Saphria is telling you that isn't it? Calling you unworthy? Showing you your worst fears?"

"Y-You're a dick!" Sapphire grunted. "Y-y-you're just gonna stand here and w-watch me suffer?"

Moon shrugged. "I didn't realize you liked it." Seeing the boy's face he shrugged again, "I'm kidding...obviously. I don't need anyone getting mad. He grabbed Saphria from Sapphire's hands.

"I do hope you can forgive me for this, you'll be fine, the effect should wear off soon. But, I respect your bravery. Here's some advice that you just need to know; not all heroes get a happy ending Sapph, I think you got the better timeline and story, because at least you still have happiness. But, it was wrong for you to just jump to that "we are evil conclusion," we have different beliefs and ideologies, but I can see our similarities. Just know that you've got a friend in me and Sarah. Good luck defeating Giygas you four. May the odds be ever in your favor."

"Wait a second where do you thin-"

"Sorry Willow, but you him confessed to early, I had to change it somehow. Later Phoenix kids!" Moon grabbed Sarah and they both vanished in a flash of orange light.

* * *

**(Giegue Cluster: Dark Sanctuary)**

Moon and Sarah both reappeared in Saturn Valley. Moon instantly took out the Demonrift and flipped to the Giegue cluster. Right below Dark Sanctuary a fifth world was listed.

_6-5: World Hearts. _

"Okay, are we in OUR world this time?" Sarah asked. Moon looked around thankfully the blue eyes Mr. Saturn approached them a few moments later.

"Andonuts Doctor looking for you." it said happily. "Machine Phase Distorter is complete."

"Alright then." Moon said. "What are we waiting for?"

"Moon...shouldn't we say something to Erick and Dyson before-"

"I wrote them a message explaining the situation and why we did this." Moon said quickly. "Let's just go now before we actually have to tell them why we are doing this."

The two of them approached the Machine where Dr. Andonuts was standing with Apple Kid.

"Ah Moon, Sarah, you both are awake and ready." Dr. Andonuts said. "The Phase distorter is finally complete. We'll be able to send you, Erick, and Dyson back in time in the morning."

"Actually, there's been a change in plans." Sarah said slowly. "Moon and I are going together without Erick and Dyson."

Erick's father frowned. "But...the legend says that the four of you must defeat Giygas together."

"Yeah...well that legend was a lie, we don't really have the time to explain it, nor do either of us want to." Moon said. "Can you please just send us back now?"

The doctor looked heavily conflicted. "Well...there's uh...there's one problem...the Phase Distorter is incapable of transporting organic human life...we'll have to transfer your spirits into robots in order to send you back in time...there's no guarantee that your spirits will return after this is done.

"Oh...well...here's the thing...we aren't technically organic humans." Moon said. "We're sort of like...hybrids...there's a weird strand of DNA that messes with our biological code, we'd be safe if you sent us through like this."

The doctor frowned. "I'm not familiar with that sort of DNA, would you be okay if I examined a sample of both your DNA in order to confirm that you would be safe?" Both of them nodded.

"Good...I hope you're okay with having your blood drawn."

Dr. Andonuts took another hour examining their blood samples in a weird sort of set up laboratory that he carried with him.

"Fascinating." he said in awe. "I've never seen anything like this. Your DNA is so unlike reality. It's like the two of you are twins. You've got some DNA for each other in your own in your respective bodies. Then, you've got some third DNA that isn't even humane. The third DNA takes up a good seventy percent of your body...so yes, you two would be absolutely fine going through the Phase Distorter together the way you two are now...You uh...You don't mind if I keep researching this...would you?" Moon and Sarah both quickly shook their heads. "Alright then, good luck to the both of you. The Phase Distorter will work by just setting the knob to the date. Giygas is attacking from ten years in the past. Good luck Moon and Sarah...oh and...congratulations on the engagement."

The blue eyes Mr. Saturn suddenly bumped into Sarah. "Girl and boy no go!" it said. "Giygas dangerous...scary monster...evil kid...powerful...no go...stay here...live with us."

Sarah picked it up and nuzzled it. "Awe, you grew so attached to us in our short time together. Don't worry, we'll see you again Mr. Saturn."

The Mr. Saturn let out a squeal or coo. "Momma Sarah...Father Moon...Love you! I do! Stay safe please."

Sarah blushed at what the Mr. Saturn said. "I don't think you can call us your parents."

"Well...according to the voice I heard in Magicant...we do adopt a Mr. Saturn that we named Astro after our adventure." Moon said. "So maybe this is Astro." he reached out and patted the creature on it's head.

"Zoom! I go wake your friends now?"

"No...let them be Astro." Sarah said. "Please don't tell them that we left without them." She set the Mr. Saturn down and watched it walk away. She and Moon then climbed into the Phase Distorter.

"You ready?" Moon asked. "This is it...we're on the last leg of our adventure. Giygas and Pokey are the last things we've got...then...we're finally free to do whatever it is we want."

Sarah smiled as the two looked into each other's eyes. "Whatever Giygas has to say to us, whatever he has left to throw at us, we'll stop it together...no matter what!"

The felt the Phase Distorter begin to vibrate, then, they heard a lot of loud noise and other things spurring out of the machine. After what felt like ten minutes...they finally heard a ding and the door opened.

They found themselves in a weird looking place. Everything on land was gray, and there was a black void below everything else. Moon looked out into the distance, there was nothing else around. They had appeared outside of a cave and that was it. The same cave they had seen in their visions.

They heard a few mechanical klanks to their left and turned to face it. Right in front of them, was Pokey Minch, however, he looked more like a zombie, his skin was all gray or maybe just a very pale turquoise color. He still wore the same business suit they had seen him in at the Monotoli building. However, he was inside of a giant robot spider thing. He gave an evil smile when he noticed the two of them standing there.

"Master Giygas notified me that you were coming." He snarled. "Are you surprised to see me?"

"No, not really." Moon said, he drew Saphria out from behind his back. "But, I'm glad that you decided to join the party Pork Face...What are you? Giygas' last line of defense?"

"Master Giygas has many allies throughout the Multiverse, but I'm his last line of defense here. Once I kill you two, I'll be able to use that corrupt DNA of yours to power him back up. However, he only needs one of you. Last chance Sarah, you could still join our ramage and conquering."

Sarah shook her head. "Never, I would never."

"Very well then." Pokey snarled. "I hope you enjoy your pathetic future when this is all over."

The three just stood in place, waiting for one of them to make a move. Unaware that at the exact time they were doing this, Erick, Giovanna, Dyson, and Petra were about to be attacked by something they had not prepared for.

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. So yeah it's early, and yeah, maybe I'll be able to get stuff up next week. I'm not sure what the deal is, Thanksgiving is kind of weird.**

**Anyway, just a few things, Number 1, if you like Pokemon I have a Pokemon fanfiction. It's an Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon retelling, except Team Galactic is going to be the primary villian, alongside a few other new things, like the fact that everything important will be a double battle. Currently, it's three chapters in but I think It'll shape up to be a pretty good series whenever I have time to work on it. The Sequel is still going to be my top priority, but I can probably juggle two stories at once, there's another chapter planned for next week if I can get it up. The title is called _A Galactic Alolan Journey_. Moon and Sarah of course make a return and maybe later down the line Petra and Erick will join up.**

**Secondly, as I mentioned above, the prolouge to the Sequel may come up next week, alongside Bound By Earth and then the Pokemon one. It all depends on what School decides to give me.**

**Thirdly, Moon's whole interaction with the Characters from _Bound By Our Hearts_. this is the reason for this chapter not coming out on Wensday, I had to rewrite it because of a change in plot, I'm actually kind of glad that Phionex did do this change in plot last minute, because it gave me the opportunity to show off Moon's personality for Smash. Moon is primarly going to act the way he did to Sapphire to certain characters in smash. However, he will not be that way to everyone, because that would be dumb writing, take a guess and see if you can guess who he'll act like this to.**

**Lastly, it seems that Ridley, Dark Samus, Blood Falcon, King Dedede, and Meta Knight have something else going on with them. Gee, I wonder where _THAT_ is going to lead to.**

**Anyway, leave a review if you want. I'll see you maybe next week. Enjoy!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: Changing Fates, Giygas' Tale.**

Erick and Dyson both walked out of their respective houses the next morning in Saturn Valley, it was then that they realized that it was midday.

"Odd...I thought we were going to go after Giygas first thing in the morning." Dyson said, looking around. "I wonder, did they decide to sleep in?"

"They couldn't have." Erick responded. He noticed that the Phase Distorter was missing, "Wait...where's the...where's the Phase Distorter?"

Petra suddenly dashed out of the place she was sharing with Dyson. She looked quite breathless and worried about something, she handed Erick an envelope.

"I-I found this next to that weird Mr. Saturn that Moon and Sarah rescued." she said breathlessly. "I-I can't believe that they just...they just…" she looked like she was ready to collapse.

"What's going on?" Giovanna asked, approaching the three of them. "I thought you four should've left by now? Where are Moon and Sarah?"

"They...They already left...they went to go see Giygas...alone!" Petra finally managed to get out.

"THEY DID WHAT!?" Erick roared.

"The letter, it explains everything...just...look at it."

Erick opened the envelope and withdrew a piece of paper from it, Moon's handwriting wasn't exactly the best. But he was still able to comprehend it.

_Erick, Dyson, _

_Sorry we just up and left you like that...but...important information came to light for me and Sarah in Magicant...we aren't really sure how we want to go about presenting this information, but here's what we know as of now; Number 1, Our world is destroyed, there is no explanation as to why or how. According to the voice, you two, Giovanna, Petra, our Mr. Saturn named Astro were all guaranteed safety from this disaster so long as the two of us went to Giygas alone._

_We aren't sure if we'll make it back alive...Giygas...our father we guess...we aren't sure what he has in store for the two of us. But we know that Ness and his friends are coming for you, listen to whatever it is they have to tell you, do whatever it is they tell you, we can't bear to watch anyone else close to us die. You five are all safe from any danger so long as you listen to what it is we told you...please follow our advice. If we come back, we don't want you to be dead._

_Please, take of Astro and yourselves for us, thanks for being our friends._

_Moon and Sarah Wolfe_

"So...friends Wolfe left us...to protect us?" Dyson asked. "From what?"

A large explosion suddenly came from where the Phase Distorter had been. Out of the cleared smoke, stepped Pokey Minch. He was clutching onto some glass tube filled with what looked like a bit of blood.

"Stupid fucking doctor, refusing to give up the sample." he snarled. "Anyway, that's the last of these idiots in this world...all that's left are…" he noticed Erick, Dyson, Giovanna, and Petra looking at him.

"Oh...well...this is almost _TOO _easy." he snarled.

"D-D-DID YOU JUST KILL MY FATHER?" Erick shouted.

"Your father, your friends at that boarding school, All of Dalaam, Onett, Twoson, Threed, Fourside, and just about everywhere else...yeah dipshit." Pokey snarled.

"Well, prepare to die then Pokey." Petra snapped. "It's four to one, you're outnumbered."

About fifty Starman suddenly teleported into the area surrounding all of them.

"You were saying...princess?"

"Great job." Giovanna said sarcastically. "Way to go, really drew out the plot with that one line there."

"I swear to god, if one more person breaks the fourth wall I'm going to lose it!" Erick snapped

"Didn't you just do it?" Petra asked.

"Crap."

"Anyway," Pokey snarled. "Moon and Sarah are off visiting Giygas, I need to make sure they return to a world where you are dead!" The starman's visors all began lighting up, ready to launch an attack. "Say goodbye you fucking fools."

"PK ROCKIN Ω!"

Multi-colored beams of light came out of nowhere consuming several starmen surrounding the four of them. The rest of the Starmen launched their beams.

"PSI Shield Ω!" Their bodies were surrounded by a bright white light, the beams hit the shield and were reflected back at the Starmen who were all destroyed as well.

Ness, Paula, Jeff, Poo, and Lucas all charged in front of the for of them.

"Give it up Pokey." Lucas said. "You're outnumbered with nowhere to run and hide. Give it up and surrender."

Pokey just smiled mischievously, "Come on, you really think I haven't learned anything since my defeat in your world crybaby?" he snarled. "I always have a backup plan incase something goes horribly wrong...plus...why would I surrender? I already got what I needed, that fool should've known better than to trust me, she just doomed you all!"

"Who? Who gave you clearance to go and destroy this world?" Paula snapped.

"I can't tell you that sweet Paula." Pokey hissed. "But the future's looking quite bad for you all. Ness, Lucas, Paula, I'll see you again soon, along with Moon and Sarah."

A loud crack suddenly swept through the area. An orange portal opened behind Pokey and a giant yellow hand, with some sharp claws shot out.

"Welp, that's my ride." Pokey snarled. "SO LONG SUCKERS!" he grabbed onto the yellow hand and was yanked through the portal."

Ness and his friends turned back to the four of them. "Are you four all that's left?" he asked them.

"Weeee!" The blue eyes Mr. Saturn brushed against Paula's leg. "Momma Sarah back!" it cooed. Paula blinked in confusion, then, she picked up the Mr. Saturn and looked into its eyes.

"I'm not Sarah...I'm...just her friend. You must be Astro."

Astro looked slightly disappointed at her comment. "Want Momma Sarah Father Moon...When they come back?"

"We...We aren't sure if they'll come back Astro." Petra said to the creature.

"Don't say that." Jeff piped up. "Come on, they'll come back, I know they will."

"Well, they have to come back within the next 48 hours." Lucas said. "According to the Triforce of Wisdom, this world is becoming too unstable for normal health systems to deal with. I mean, it makes sense, considering that every major town is up in flames, forests are on fire, and much more. Nature is slowly falling apart."

"So...wait...what about the rest of us then?" Dyson asked.

"We are taking you five with us to our world, seeing as how you are the only survivors left in this world, it's the least we can do." Poo responded. "So, with that being said, we should probably get going." an orange portal opened behind them.

"NO!" Erick shouted. Everyone looked at him.

"I'm not leaving until it's one hundred percent certain that Moon and Sarah aren't coming back." he said. "You guys can go on ahead...but I'm staying here until then."

"As am I." Dyson said. "Friend Giovanna and Petra, I insist that you two go on ahead. We'll come in 48 hours...everyone else goes." Both girls nodded and moved over towards Jeff and Poo

"I'm...I'm staying too, Ness." Paula said. "Just in case."

"Alright then Paula, I'll stay here with you." Ness replied. "Jeff, Poo, you two can take Giovanna and Petra and get them settled in Dalaam for a while. Lucas...what are you doing?"

"I'm going to head home." the blond responded. "I'm sure my brother is worried sick about me."

"Oh...speaking of which...how's your brother doing?" Ness asked.

Lucas looked down. "He's uh...He's been alright...it still hasn't been easy for him to carry the weight of what he did before the world was reset...but he has been helping me train for the sixth tournament."

"Sweet, can't wait to see you there." Ness replied.

Erick and Dyson hugged Giovanna and Petra goodbye before they watched the five of them climb through the orange portal. The sudden brushing of the Astro's nose against Paula's leg suddenly alerted them back to his presence.

"Oh crap...maybe we should've sent him with them." Erick said.

"No No!" Astro said. "I stay...Momma Sarah come back with Father Moon! I see them again!"

"I hope." Paula whispered to Ness. "I don't think anyone could stand to see a Mr. Saturn cry."

* * *

**(Cave of the Past)**

Moon and Sarah split apart from each other as Pokey made a charge at the two of them in his robot. Sarah launched a PK Fire at him, the flames surrounded the robot and started to sizzle. However, Pokey seemed to have decked out the robot with all sorts of fancy gadgets as the flames were quickly extinguished from his robot.

Moon used PSI Earth to hold summon binding rocks to hold some of the mechanical spider legs in place. He then launched his own PK Fire, however, instead of normal fire, his flames were a bright blue color. Saphria started to glow in response to his attack.

"_Interesting, it seems that you have the special PSI Fire, the one that is more hot, it's very rare that someone gets that version of PSI Fire, A flame slash would be quite fun to use."_

Sarah launched off a gamma level PSI Thunder, the bolts of lightning struck the rocks freeing Pokey from his eternal hold. The bolts that hit the robot however, were just reflected back at Sarah, who's Franklin badge apparently couldn't reflect a stronger thunder as she was struck by lightning.

Moon summoned a hydro vortex around Pokey's robot sweeping him into the vortex spinning around and around. He quickly teleported over to Sarah and used lifeup to heal her. She stood back up, refreshed and launched an omega level freeze at the vortex. It froze in place, making for a hilarious looking Ice collum.

Saphria started glowing and emitting blue flames as Moon charged up to the ice sculpture. He started to get the sense of it cracking. Just before the sculpture exploded he teleported as ice shot off in every direction in an explosion. When the dust cleared, Pokey was left on the ground, the robot had been destroyed.

Moon stalked up to him and leered him all the way down.

Pokey let out a cough. "Moon...w-w-what's going on? W-wh-what happened?" he asked dumbly.

"Nice try Pork face." Moon hissed.

Pokey pressed a button and an orange portal opened behind him. However, Moon grabbed him by his shirt tuxedo and forced him against the wall of the cave.

"Moon?" Sarah asked. "Please do-"

"I told you Pork Face...if I ever got my hands on you...I'd kill you...and you know what the sad part is? Back in Fourside, I actually regretted saying that to you...but now...I'm going to stick to my word...this isn't about what you did to Sarah, Erick, Dyson, Giovanna, Petra, or even my family." he said firmly. Saphria started glowing brightly as his words flowed out. "You could've gotten away with that damn lie of being under Giygas' corruption for all of that...but...you killed Olive...you KILLED her...right in front of me, with no regret, no remorse, not even an ounce of hesitation." he was stopped as Sarah ran up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Moon...please...stop and think about this." She cried.

"Do we REALLY need to think about this?" Moon asked her. "He and Giygas have taken everything from us! You honestly think we should let him LIVE?"

"I'm not saying we should." Sarah said. "I'm just begging you to stop and think, is this really what you want?"

"I want to be a hero." Moon said. "And to me, a true hero should know when there's no hope for something, a true hero knows when the right time to put a stop to something is, They prevent people from coming back and doing crap again."

Sarah hesitated, then, she gave a reluctant nod. "Alright then...if...if that's truly what you want...then I won't stop you...just...make it quick."

Moon turned back to Pokey, very briefly, he heard someone calling his name.

"_Moon...don't do this...please…"_

"Olive...I promised you...that I would never let anything happen...I failed that promise...I failed every single promise I made to you...and look at what happened." he said to himself

"_You aren't like this...I know you aren't…You aren't a cold blooded killer...You aren't a monster...You aren't evil...please Moon...are you really confident that he is truly evil?"_

Moon hesitated, then, without missing a beat, he swung Saphria through Pokey's neck. The blade cleanly sliced through his neck, severing his head from his body. Moon stood still for a second, then, to his great relief, normal blood leaked out of Pokey's body.

"Moon...are you okay?" Sarah asked after a while, he suddenly realized that he had been standing in silence for a long time. "D-Do you regret what you did? D-D-do you think I let you make the wrong choice?" He turned to face her.

"No." he said. "I made the right choice; No corrupt blood in his system, no dark energy surrounding him...he did everything he did for Giygas on his own will."

They heard a faint, weak, cold laughter emit from the cave they were in front of. They both looked at each other, after one last nod of approval from the other, they took each other's hand, and set off into the cave.

The inside of the cave was brightly lit, they walked along some weird, curvy path on what looked like human intestines eventually, they approached some weird machine, it was entirely gray with a big, bright orb in the center. As they approached it, both of their faces appeared on the orb.

"My children…" a cold, weak voice started to say. "Moon...Sarah...you finally made it."

The two of them stayed silent. Just looking at the machine in a mixture of confusion and interest.

"What's wrong my children?" it asked. "Why are you acting so quiet? Are you afraid? Are you lonely? Don't be afraid, my children...I'm...so...proud of you! You two have grown so strong...you were once weak and afraid...but now...you two are more powerful than anyone could ever imagine...my children...let me look at you."

The machine suddenly clicked open and the orb split in two, revealing a tall, white alien figure in a chair. It had dead black eyes and was very thin.

"Hello...Father." Moon said.

"Hello, my children." Giygas responded, his voice was cold, but it was also very weak. "I've been waiting for you."

"What do you want to say to us Giygas?" Moon asked. "We know you're too weak to put up a fight, and that you're slowly dying...you obviously still wanted to tell us something...so why did you want us here."

The alien frowned. "Am I not allowed to spend time with my children? I haven't seen you two...since you were just babies...the Starman Deluxe was able to get you guys from the hospital and too Stonehenge for the soul infusion and then back to the hospital before anyone noticed you went missing." Moon and Sarah both gave him a look of doubt.

"Bratty little things you two were." Giygas hissed. "We had a hard time getting you to comply with the infusion, since everytime we separated you, you both would never stopped crying until we put you two next to each other again."

"Why didn't you just kill us then?" Sarah asked. "You had us in your grasp...you could've just killed us and won? Why didn't you?"

"To answer that, my darling daughter, let me tell you a little tale." Giygas hissed weakly. "One day, a long time ago, I appeared in this mysterious world. I didn't know who I was, or what I was doing, all I knew was that I had fled from another world to escape Ninten, Ana, Loid, and Teddy. My goals were set on reforming my army and attacking them again. Then, I found the Apple of Enlightenment, a wonderful object that could tell it's holder his future. I saw myself being defeated by two children, the two of you."

"Just us?" Moon asked.

"Yes my son, not the four of you." Giygas hissed. "However, I was visited by Tabuu...and that was when I learned the whole truth."

"What did Tabuu tell you?" Sarah asked.

"Tabuu, was apparently my personal scientist, well, the me from Ness' world at least. He was shocked to learn that I was still alive and started to research my existence. Then, he came back to me, told me that this was the perfect opportunity that I would've wanted, he told me that Paula had made a grave error and that she had given me an inevitable victory. He told me that if I followed his advice, I would be successful, not just in my own cluster's domination, but the whole MULTIVERSE!"

"But why didn't you kill us?"

"Tabuu told me that the key to the conquering of the whole multiverse, was the two of you. He told me about the four bad timelines, the one where I was defeated by Ness and friends, the one where I was defeated by Ninten and friends, the one where I was beat by Sapphire and friends, and then the one where Pokey was defeated by Lucas and friends. He said that, if I listened to him, I would win. The first step was getting the two of you...which we already had done by the time he came to us. He was surprised to learn that we were already doing the soul infusion. But then he came to the conclusion that I didn't need his guidance, all I needed to know was that if I stuck with my original thoughts and plans, I would win."

Moon turned to Sarah, she could see the look of confusion on his face. She understood why though, they had been told that Paula creating them was a lie...so...why was Giygas telling them this if it was a lie?

Giygas gave off a few very weak coughs. "Then, a few years before your adventure, Tabuu came back to me, he told me that he had been watching my timeline and that he noticed that time was all over the place. He told me that I was going to start having doubts, concerns, and worries. He said that someone was fucking with the timeline, trying to prevent my victory, he said that I had to ignore these "doubts and worries" that they were being forced into me by someone attempting to change the course of time. All sorts of visions of my defeat, advice from Starman, and anything of questioning my ways, was just something trying to stop my victory."

Moon tightly squeezed Sarah's hand. She didn't understand why he was suddenly so jumpy and anxious. Giygas had also taken notice to Moon's sudden jumps, although, he was grinning evilly, probably because that's just what he looked like.

"Is something wrong my son?" the alien asked. Moon suddenly turned and wrapped her in a tight hug. Then he started crying for no reason, he just started crying.

"SARAH!" he screamed. "Don't die! Please don't die! SARAH PLEASE DON'T DIE!" Sarah felt her heart sink. She quickly hugged him back. His screams ceased instantly as he clung to her.

"You seem to learn quickly." Giygas hissed.

"What the hell are you doing to him?" Sarah snapped.

Giygas frowned. "It seems that my evil, dying presence is affecting his corruption it has been setting off some weird triggers in his system." the alien said. "Moon has always been more vulnerable to my corruption since he took the infusion in open arms when he was next to you."

"Then...why is it not affecting me?"

"You, my precious daughter, have what I've come to call...purity." the alien hissed. "My corruption works in mysterious ways, it's a black magic sort of PSI. There are, however, counters to my corruption, caring for others is one, the reason why Dark Moon and Dark Sarah won't harm Erick, Dyson, Petra, or Giovanna, is because you care about them deeply and they care about you deeply. But, purity, is something I don't understand."

"P-Purity?" Sarah asked. Moon was still clinging on to her, crying quietly.

"Purity, my sweet daughter, it's basically a way of being immune to corruption. Dark Sarah, being my soul, counteracts your purity, making you vulnerable to hers and Dark Moon's corruption. The corruption given off by my dying presence has no effect on you. There are certain people in the Multiverse who have Purity. These people are either too innocent or too evil. That may seem like an easy way to get purity, but it's far more complicated than that. Many of the Multiverse's greatest villains aren't even immune to corruption. Innocence, on the other hand, is very specific." the alien let out several more wheezes and coughs.

"Well...is there any way I can...make the suffering stop on him?" Sarah asked.

"A-A-A sweet thought, my daughter." Giygas hissed. "While this may look like hell for your boyfriend, it's far from a bad thing, he's learning and realizing things that I could only dream of learning. There's so many questions that I have about your story, your fates changed, from being killed, to being my weapons, to whatever the fuck this is."

"What's he seeing? What's happening to him?" Sarah asked, she felt her heart slowly sinking, she was concerned about was her own emotional stability right now, Moon's emotions had spiraled out of control and she could feel a part of herself just all over the place.

"He is learning the truth...or at least...trying to learn the truth. His cries and outburst came from watching you die in the first timeline of fate, he knew it was fake, but his emotions are so out of control that he can't stand watching these fates of you suffering."

Moon's cries slowly began to settle down and vanish, but he still didn't let go of her. Giygas suddenly grinned.

"Seems as if he's pieced something together, he's been getting all sorts of weird visions I'd imagine." Giygas suddenly began wheezing and coughing a lot more than usual, which sort of snapped Moon back to reality, he started breathing heavily. He caught Sarah's eye and quickly averted his attention from Giygas and kissed her.

"S-S-Sar-Sarah." he breathed.

"It's okay Moon...I'm still here...I'm not dead."

"My C-Children." Giygas gasped. "I'm...so...proud of you two...I'm so...happy."

The two of them turned and looked at the alien.

"You both...did so well...you had so much potential." the alien gasped. Black sparks suddenly began erupting off of the alien. "M-Moon...S-Sarah...my children...I'm so proud of you...keep going onwards...don't make the decision." Moon suddenly let out a horrified gasp and quickly held Sarah close to him.

"Look into my chest, avert your gaze." he hissed into her ear. Sarah obeyed and looked into his blue hoodie covered chest. She heard an explosion that blasted her and Moon across the cave, they landed on the ground with a thud and everything faded to black.

* * *

**(The World in Between)**

"Sarah?" Sarah blinked, she was still clutching onto Moon, her face in his chest. His arms around her, with his face buried in her hair.

"Sarah...let go...we're safe." She let go of Moon and looked around, she let out a gasp. In front of her, her's and Moon's bodies lay motionless on the ground, next to the Phase Distorter. She turned to face Moon, his body was transparent, she could see through it.

"What happened? Where are we?" Sarah asked.

"I've heard of something similar to this happening in stories...have you ever read Harry Potter?" Moon asked.

"Only the first five books...why?"

Moon groaned. "Alright...just...just come here." he said. He guided her over towards the cave where Giygas had been, there was a sign pinned next to the entrance.

_This land exists between the realms of Life and Death. You have an important decision to make, going into the cave means you wish to welcome death. Going back to your bodies means you go back to your lives. Think about your choice carefully…_

"Well...that's an easy decision." Sarah said. She moved back over towards her body. Moon didn't follow her.

"Moon?" she asked. "Come on...let's go home...let's see our friends."

"I-I don't want to go home." Moon said, he looked down at his feet, tears fell from his eyes. "I saw everything Sarah...now that I know all this crap...I don't want to go back...I just want it all to end. I don't want to live knowing what I know...I...I don't want to tell you what I saw...because it scares me."

"Moon...we left Erick and Dyson without saying goodbye...we can't leave them alone in Ness' world...they've lost everything, they can't lose us!" Sarah said as tears started to flow out of her eyes. "I-I can't just leave them like this...if...if you want to die...then...I won't go with you! I'll wait until you've made your choice...just...think...please."

Moon swallowed. Then, he turned to face the cave. Then, he looked back at Sarah.

"P-P-Please Sarah...just...come with me...let's just end this." he cried.

He could tell she was struggling to hold it together. "No Moon!" she said firmly. "I'm not leaving Erick and Dyson without any goodbye, I'm not leaving Astro, I promised I'd come back! I'm not going to go with you!"

Moon turned towards the cave, he wasn't going to argue any more. He took a step towards the cave. Then, Olive appeared in front of him. He flaming red hair and soft green eyes looked at him, she was irritated.

"_What the fuck are you doing?"_ she snapped.

"I'm coming with you." Moon cried.

"_Really? You're going to just leave Sarah like that? After everything you've been through, you're just going to leave her? She'll never be able to live with herself if she doesn't go with you! But she's never going to go with you! You know that!" _

"But...if all that I just saw and heard is real...I don't want to...I can't bear to live with that truth, neither could anyone else!"

Olive looked at him in fury. "_Sarah loves you! She's done so much for you! She's convinced that she has helped you change! You showed her that you've been thinking about death since the age of eight! If you chose death over coming back with her! She'll be horrified! She will forever be left to wonder what she did wrong! She'll question her own abilities! She thinks she's helped you! You would literally be killing her yourself if you leave!"_

"But...I've failed everything! I messed everything up! Doing this, it could mean the removal of Dark Sarah! Her boundation! The return of her happiness! I could turn her back to normal! I could fix the mess I made!"

"_Did you ever listen to what she said and what you yourself said? I remember you saying to her that there was a timeline where you both didn't have dark sides but you didn't love each other! You said that you'd pick the timeline with your dark sides over not loving her! Look at her right now you fool!"_

Moon turned back to look at Sarah. He saw her on her knees, she was crying, and she was crying hard. He couldn't hear what she was saying, probably because she was on the life side and he was on the death side.

"_Go back to her!"_ Olive said. "_She needs you...Astro will need you...Erick, Dyson, Petra, and Giovanna would hate you if you just left her like that!"_

"But...the Multiverse is full of those heroes! Heroes who did bad things! Someone who created us and framed Paula! So much has happened because of our world. I can't just go back knowing this about heroes and other stuff." Olive placed her hands on his shoulders.

"_You said you wanted to be a true hero."_ Olive said. "_Do what a true hero would do! Figure out what happened, who was really responsible for this mess, who was responsible for my death! Moon, you have a list of suspects, you have the knowledge at your grasp, you have the spirit and personality! Don't leave not knowing who did this to our world! Figure this out!"_

Moon looked into her sparkling green eyes. "O-Olive...I-"

"_Moon, stop, I know that deep inside, you don't want to leave Sarah either."_

"Olive...I can't do this…I can't do this." Olive hugged him.

"_Moon, you saw it, you know it, you are the most powerful entity in the Multiverse! You could restore balance to the corruption in the Multiverse! Do the right thing! Go back with Sarah! You two could face the Multiverse together! If you won't go back for Sarah, or for that chance, then go back for me! Please...hurry up and go back...before she leaves you!"_

Moon turned and saw Sarah, she was still crying, but now, she was walking back towards her body. He instantly kicked into high gear and ran after her. Right before she touched her own body, he tackled her into the ground.

"I'M SORRY SARAH!" he cried. "I'M SORRY! I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE YOU! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I'M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I'M SORRY! I WASN'T THINKING! SARAH I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" Sarah hugged him back.

"It's okay Moon." she said softly. "Calm down...please calm down...I still love you...it's alright."

He hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry Sarah...I'll go back with you...but first...let me tell you everything I now know...it must remain a secret from everyone...can you at least promise me that?" Sarah nodded.

* * *

**(Saturn Valley)**

Erick, Ness, and Paula were all waiting in Saturn Valley. Dyson had too much of an oxygen relapse and decided to just go on to Ness' world. The only working clock had slowly started to tick by, each of them looked very pale face and were each occasionally coughing.

"Time is nearly up." Ness said. "It's been almost two days."

Erick just let out a sigh, then he coughed. "Yeah...I know." he said weakly. Astro was in Paula's arms, he was apparently not affected by the weird change on the earth. Suddenly, the Mr. Saturn started making noise.

"Coming now...something is...look look!" Astro said.

A bunch of black and white light started appearing in the middle of the valley, then, the Phase Distorter reappeared. Moon and Sarah slowly stepped out of it. Erick quickly ran up to them and gave them both a hug.

"Y-You two suck." he gasped. "Here I thought I was never going to see you again, thinking I was going to be the one to deliver the bad news to everyone."

"Why are you so pale and sick looking?" Sarah asked.

"Y-Your world is slowly falling apart, without mother nature letting trees and other animals do their natural things, you're world has slowly become destroyed even to the point of a lack of oxygen." Paula said quietly. "I'm...I'm so sorry that things ended up like this...our world's Pokey, someone let him get into your world and destroy it, he killed everyone you know and love...what happened with Giygas?"

"I killed our world's Pokey." Moon said. "Cut his head off with Saphria. Giygas gave us some rather shocking information...just told us more about how we were supposed to lose and crap."

Ness and Paula shifted uncomfortably at that statement.

"Well anyway." Ness said. "We're here to take you to our world, you all can live there, and uh, I know it's kind of...out there...considering that we failed to stop your world from becoming like this...but...let's be friends...okay?" he asked, extending his hand out.

Sarah looked at Moon. He extended his hand out to Ness. "Thanks Ness." he said. "Sarah and I are forever in You and Paula's debt."

Paula handed Astro over to Sarah. "He's a real sweetie." she said. "He'll fit in with you and Moon perfectly."

"Zoom! Momma Sarah! Father Moon! Back...Happy family! Go now?" he asked.

"Yeah...let's get going." Paula said. "Ness, Erick, and I don't have much time"

Her, Erick, and Ness all walked through the orange portal behind them. Sarah followed after them with Astro in her arms. Moon walked up to the portal, ready to leave behind the now destroyed world that was once his home.

Then...something came over him...it was just a weird feeling that he just had. Remembering those four kids in World Hearts...something just felt off...he took out the Demonrift and flipped to World Hearts. He quickly looked down at the state of terror that was awaiting them and what had happened to them. A weird feeling overcame him, guilt, maybe doubt. Strangely he put his hands together and prayed.

"_Sapphire, Willow, Anthony, Noct...I hope you're safe...take care of yourselves...you four can beat Giygas...I know you will...Sorry for being such a jerk...that's just the way I am."_

He heard a distant murmur he couldn't quite make out what it said.

"_Hey, I didn't realize you just lost your mother and who knows what else...I hope everything worked out in the end for you four...I don't know if you lost anything else, or if time rewrote itself back to normal, or who knows what other possibility, considering you attacked from the past."_

More murmurs, it sounded like four people all trying to figure something out.

"_Well...wherever you guys are...wherever you go...whatever the future holds...I hope things work out. I'm going to make the assumption that everything worked out just fine...at least you aren't moving worlds...I hope...I hope to see you again someday...who knows...but for now...I think I'm just gonna sit tight with Sarah and Astro. I hope we can continue our little friendship."_

Moon shook himself back to reality and took one look back at the now destroyed Saturn Valley. Then, as Saphria started to glow, he made one last promise.

"Olive...I know I promised you a lot...I broke those promises...but this time...it'll be different...I will find who is responsible for all of this...and when I do...I'll make them suffer...Olive...I will avenge your death...and if I ever find that other world Pokey...I'll kill him to. That way...we never have to deal with another problem again."

"_What about what you know about them? What will you do about them?"_

"Whoever it is, I will make sure that they regret their decision, because not only were we illegally created, we were meant to die, Giygas was never supposed to win, that was all a lie. His corruption manipulated the timeline in his favor...someone took actions to prevent it. Then, someone changed it again. Whoever you are...mark my words...when I find you...I'll make you wish your stupid plan HAD worked."

He turned back to the portal and began to walk through, just before he entered he heard one last line from a voice that he would never forget.

"_Thanks for listening to me Moon...for once in your life."_

* * *

**That's all for today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. We are down to just the epilogue of the story before this story is truly over, whenever I decide to post that is unknown.**

**Anyway, good news. The Prologue to my newest story is finally up. You can check it out on my profile or look up _Unfound Revenge, A Smashing Tale of Reform_. It's a short chapter that just gets you started on the series.**

**While your at it, you could check out my Pokémon Fanfic and let me know what you think of that. Either way, one chapter left, it's going to be a relatively short one but it's coming. I'll see you all over in Smash.**


	33. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**(World Sanctuary, Fiver, one month later)**

Moon and Sarah walked along the streets of Fiver. It had been one month since their talk with Giygas and move to Ness' world. Erick and Giovanna had returned to the Winters Boarding School with Jeff. Dyson and Petra decided to remain in Dalaam with Poo. The two of them, however, decided to just go to the peaceful village with Astro. They lived in the same house that Olive had been in, and the townsfolk accepted their weird little conditions.

They had also had their wedding since then, it was a small ceremony, just their friends (Ness and Paula's families were respectfully not involved for obvious reasons). A good month had gone by, Dark Moon and Dark Sarah hadn't been doing anything at all and they just enjoyed their time together, visiting Ness or Paula's family for dinner every now and again. Truly, they felt like they had completed something with their lives.

The two entered back into the house in Fiver. Astro immediately approached the two of them. In their free time, they had gone about making Astro more of a little son for them. They dressed him a little tuxedo every now and again, he enjoyed it a lot. Moon personally thought it looked quite stupid.

"Weeee!" Astro said, jumping up and down. "Momma Sarah! Father Moon! Back finally!" Sarah giggled and picked the creature up. Nuzzling it's nose and hugging it tightly.

"Mail came!" Astro said.

"Mail? We never get any mail." Moon said. He looked down at the doorstep there was one envelope on the ground. It had a red ball with a black horizontal and vertical line through it. Moon picked it up and opened it.

_To the people of Moon and Sarah Wolfe,_

_We regret to inform you that you've been denied from participating in the Sixth Annual Smash Tournament. You do meet all the standards and qualifications of course, but we've decided that this year's tournament will only be between all participants of Smash Ultimate. Plus, WE really don't want you anywhere near our tournaments and clusters. You've got enough on your plate, so please, spare us the trouble of having to remove you from existence, don't even think about attending this tournament. I'll be watching._

_-Palutena Icarus...The Imperium Cluster_

"I don't remember signing up for a chance at Smash." Sarah said, after Moon finished reading the letter. Moon didn't answer, instead he just stared at the letter in shock.

"Moon? Are you...are you okay?" She asked. "Are you upset that we aren't going to compete, joining smash must be like...a dream of yours."

Moon shook his head. He looked up at her and his face was bright, it was full of excitement for the first time in a very long time.

"Sarah...we HAVE to go to the Imperium Cluster." he said.

"What? Why?"

"This letter, she knows something about us, she knows that we're the Children of Giygas, which is probably why she doesn't want us coming to the tournament. But we have to go, the Demonrift requires that I watch the Smash competitors and keep notes on them."

"But what does the fact that she knows that we are Giygas' children mean to you?" Sarah asked.

Moon suddenly became dead silent as the Demonrift spoke to him for the first time in a month.

"_Master Wolfe, if you do decide to go watch Ness compete, you must wait five months, that is when the next Tournament is...I will provide you with three tickets, one for you and Sarah, the third for whoever you wish to accompany you if you want."_

Moon nodded, then, he shook himself back to reality. "Sarah...if my theory is correct...there is no way in hell that Palutena should know that we are Giygas' children, Ness and Lucas promised to keep that information secret. She knows something about us...she's hiding something...that's why she doesn't want us to come."

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe...but...someone there has to know SOMETHING. We can figure out who framed Paula, who created us, who messed with our timeline, there's gotta be someone who knows and is hiding something."

Sarah looked at him in shock, she had never seen such fire in his eyes before. There was confidence, hope, and determination.

"I thought you said that we were better off not getting involved with the Super Smash Brothers?"

"Sarah, don't you see?" Moon asked. "Someone isn't telling the Multiverse about something, they're covering it up, hoping to hide it . Whether it's Ness, or another smash competitor, I have no idea. But what I do know, there's corruption and greed and secrets. We can fix the corruption that has spread throughout the Multiverse. Rewrite the deeds, make others confess their own faults, bring them to light, put them to justice! We can find out who sent Pokey to our world and allowed him to destroy it!"

"Do...Do we even have any ideas about who could be responsible for such a hideous deed?" Sarah asked. "Moon we shouldn't go jumping to conclusions, the letter said they'd remove us from existence!"

Moon snorted. "I'd like to see her try." he said. "But Sarah...I need you to come with me because of our boundation. I need to figure this out, I want answers! I want to see this world brought back to life! We can leave Astro with Dyson and Petra during the tournament."

Sarah looked at Astro, who was happily jumping up and down on the sofa. "I'm...I'm not sure about this Moon."

"Sarah...this is an opportunity that we may never get back. You and I can take Paula with us to the smash tournament, and we can figure this out, and on top of that, we can watch Ness and Lucas compete, come on, it'll be fun!"

Sarah looked into his gaze, after a moment of consideration, she nodded.

"Let's challenge fate, let's challenge the gods, let's challenge everyone!" she said. "We will fix the problems of this Multiverse, bring them back to normal! It's what we do best!"

The two shared a kiss, it was them, against the rest of the world at this point. How they planned to solve this problem was unknown for now. But they both knew that a new chapter was about to unfold in their lives. Happily awaiting the arrival of tournament six, ready to learn the truth, and hopefully live peacefully.

Little did they know, however, that, halfway around the Multiverse, a new evil was looming, one that would threaten everything just as Giygas had. Both of their dark sides sat quietly, awaiting that moment. Their beliefs and fate would be challenged more than before. Not just by themselves, but by others. They didn't know that a grand adventure awaited them, one that would decide the fate of the Multiverse once again. They would fight, but not just against evil, but against good as well, everything was slowly coming together. The tension was thin drawn, it was only a matter of time before it was snapped like a twig.

Evil and horrors would be unveiled, friends would soon become foes, but throughout all of it. The two of them would know one thing, and one thing only, it didn't matter what the outcome was in the end, either way it went, the Giegue Cluster would be safe. Their friends would never be harmed again. They would never let it happen. Never again.

* * *

**This is the official end to Bound By Earth everyone. I know that this epilogue is pretty short and sweet, but that's what I was going for. Just a short and sweet finale to kind of just show what Moon and Sarah's plans are for the future.**

**Now, I get that this is the official ending of the story, but, I do have a two quick Trivia tidbits that I think you'll find to be quite interesting.**

**First up, Giovanna was not always planned to make it to the end of this story. She was written down to be killed by Pokey as sort of a last minute middle finger off guard kill. This was planned because originally, Erick was meant to return for the Smash Sequel as he, Moon, Sarah, and Paula tried to figure out what caused the special charm to break. However, at the last minute, Erick opted to not return for the sequel so this idea had to be scrapped as it wouldn't make much sense.**

**Secondly, The epilogue was originally going to also be chapter one of Unfound Revenge (This story's sequel), I scrapped this idea because I decided I wanted to make chapter one longer than initially intended.**

**Now, as I say goodbye to this series, and turn my attention towards Unfound Revenge and a Galactic Alolan Journey, I want to again thank everyone who supported this series, I hope all of you check out Unfound Revenge as it is this stories sequel, the next chapter may come out this week, but I'm kind of putting my mindset towards chapter four of my Pokémon story. Either way, the story is not done yet, check out Unfound Revenge, A Smashing Tale of Reform to see this series continue. The prologue has been up since last week, I hope you enjoy the series, I'll see you again at some point in time and space.  
**


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